Flora of North America species comparison

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Aquilegia chrysantha

golden columbine
Stems

30-120 cm.
Basal leaves

2-3x-ternately compound, 9-45 cm, much shorter than stems;

leaflets green adaxially, to 11-55 mm, not viscid;

primary petiolules 20-50 mm (leaflets not crowded), glabrous or distally pilose.
Flowers

erect;

sepals perpendicular to floral axis, yellow, lanceolate to ovate-lanceolate, 20-36 × 5-10 mm, apex narrowly acute or acuminate;

petals: spurs yellow, straight, ± parallel or divergent, 42-65 mm, slender, evenly tapered from base, blades yellow, oblong, 13-23 × 6-15 mm;

stamens 12-25 mm.
Follicles

18-30 mm;

beak 10-18 mm.

Aquilegia chrysantha
Phenology Flowering spring–summer (Apr–Sep).
Habitat Damp places in canyons
Elevation 1000-3500 m (3300-11500 ft)
Distribution
from FNA
AZ; CO; NM; TX; UT; nw Mexico
[WildflowerSearch map]
[BONAP county map]
Discussion

Colorado populations supposedly having spurs only 35-40 mm have been called Aquilegia chrysantha var. rydbergii. Material seen from this area falls within the normal range of variation of the species. Populations intermediate between A. chrysantha and A. coerulea var. pinetorum occur in northern Arizona (M. Butterwick et al. 1991).

(Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.)
Source FNA vol. 3.
Parent taxa Ranunculaceae > Aquilegia
Sibling taxa
A. barnebyi, A. brevistyla, A. canadensis, A. chaplinei, A. coerulea, A. desertorum, A. elegantula, A. eximia, A. flavescens, A. formosa, A. hinckleyana, A. jonesii, A. laramiensis, A. longissima, A. micrantha, A. pubescens, A. saximontana, A. scopulorum, A. shockleyi, A. vulgaris
Synonyms A. chrysantha var. rydbergii
Name authority A. Gray: Proc. Amer. Acad. Arts 8: 621. (1873)
Web links 
Unless otherwise noted, all data comes from the online version of the Flora of North America, who have made most of their content available via a Creative Commons license (CC BY 4.0).



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