Aquilegia flavescens
Aquilegia hinckleyana
yellow columbine
Hinckley's columbine
20-70 cm.
50-70 cm.
2x-ternately compound, 8-30 cm, much shorter than stems;
leaflets green adaxially, to 14-42 mm, not viscid;
primary petiolules to 13-67 mm (leaflets not crowded), glabrous or pilose.
2x-ternately compound, 30-40 cm, much shorter than stems;
leaflets green adaxially, to 20-40 mm, not viscid;
primary petiolules 25-50 mm (leaflets not crowded), pilose.
nodding;
sepals perpendicular to floral axis, yellow or tinged with pink, elliptic-lanceolate to oblong, 12-22 × 4-10 mm, apex obtuse to acute or sometimes acuminate;
petals: spurs yellow, tips incurved, 10-18 mm, stout, evenly tapered from base or more abruptly narrowed near middle, blades cream colored, oblong, 7-10 × 4-8 mm;
stamens 12-17 mm.
suberect;
sepals perpendicular to floral axis, yellow, ovate, 25-34 × 14-18 mm, apex obtuse;
petals: spurs yellow, straight, ± parallel, 40-56 mm, slender, evenly tapered from base, blades yellow, oblong, 19-23 × 13-17 mm;
stamens 17-20 mm.
18-27 mm;
beak 8-10 mm.
20-25 mm;
beak 20 mm.
Aquilegia flavescens
Aquilegia hinckleyana
Aquilegia flavescens sometimes forms hybrid swarms with A. formosa var. formosa, which grows at lower elevations through much of its range. Intermediate specimens having pinkish red flowers and petal blades 5-6 mm are occasionally found where these species grow together. The name A. flavescens var. miniana has sometimes been mistakenly applied to these intermediates, but the type of var. miniana is a typical, pink-sepaled plant of A. flavescens.
(Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.)
Of conservation concern.
Aquilegia hinckleyana is endemic to Capote Falls, Presidio County, Texas. The key and description above are based on specimens seen. E. J. Lott (1979) gave the range of sepal width in A. hinckleyana as 9-17 mm, thus overlapping the range in A. chrysantha. She considered sepal shape to be the most reliable key character for distinguishing these species, with sepals less than 2.5 times as long as wide in A. hinckleyana and more than 2.5 times as long as wide in A. chrysantha. Perhaps because of the overlap in characters, she later reduced A. hinckleyana to a variety of A. chrysantha (E. J. Lott 1985). Until her data are published, I prefer to follow the established taxonomy.
(Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.)
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