blue columbine

Aquilegia coerulea is a herbaceous plant with flowering stems that may be 15–80 centimeters (6–31 in) when fully grown. They are perennial plants that typically live for four to six years; regrowing from a simple or branched rootstock that is covered in the bases of old petioles, the stems that support individual leaves. The basal leaves, the ones growing from the base of the plant, are always shorter than the flowering stems, just 9–37 cm (3.5–14.5 in) tall. They are compound leaves that are usually biternate, having nine leaflets in total in groups of three. However, occasionally they may be simply trifoliate, divided into just three leaflets, or tripinnate with each leaf divided to three levels with 21 leaflets in total. Each leaflet is quite thin and has three lobes. On their upper sides they are green and glabrous, smooth and hairless. They may either be glabrous or pubescent, covered in fine, minute hairs, on the undersides. Leaflets most often range in size from 1.3–4.2 cm (0.5–1.7 in), but occasionally may be as long as 6.1 cm (2.4 in).

In the wild, blooming can commence as early as late April and might occur as late as early September, though usually plants are not found in bloom earlier than May. Mature plants grow one to ten flowering stems, though averaging three to four, each with three to four flowers. …

Colorado columbine is native to the Rocky Mountains from northern New Mexico to southern Montana. It grows in all of the mountainous western half of Colorado and Wyoming. Additionally it grows in every county of Utah, parts of Nevada, and northern Arizona. It is listed by the USDA as growing in Idaho and South Dakota, but without county level distributions. The species was reported to grow in the Caribou–Targhee National Forest in eastern Idaho in 1973. Though the geographic center of the range is in eastern Utah, the greatest number of plants is found in the mountains of north central Colorado. Rocky Mountain columbine grows in mountainous areas, starting at lower elevations with the Rocky Mountain Douglas-fir (Pseudotsuga menziesii var. glauca). They become more common at higher elevations in montane ecosystems and subalpine habitats with some growing above timberline in the alpine tundra. The lowest elevations where they grow naturally is 1,800 meters (5,900 ft) for Aquilegia coerulea var. pinetorum and the highest is 3,600 meters (11,800 ft) for Aquilegia coerulea var. coerulea in the southern Rocky Mountains. This species of columbine grows poorly in heavy soils without good drainage. However, it prefers moist areas and is very often found in quaking aspen groves. It will also grow in the open coniferous forests, meadows, and in clearings. …

Within its natural range Aquilegia coerulea is most often pollinated by hawkmoths (Sphingidae) and bumblebees (Bombus). Specific species of hawkmoth include Hyles lineata and Sphinx vashti. The bumblebees include Bombus appositus, but Bombus flavifrons visit the flowers much more frequently. Hawkmoths visit most often during the night while bumblebees only visit during daylight hours. The plants have the highest rate of cross-fertilization between plants in areas where the number of flowers is smaller and the population of hawkmoths is highest. Normally, only hawkmoths with their very long tongues are able access the nectar at the bottom of the very long spurs with bumblebees visiting primarily or only for pollen. Pale to white flowers pollinated by moths tend to have longer nectar spurs making nectar less available to bees. The western bumblebee (Bombus occidentalis) has been observed nectar robbing from Aquilegia coerulea by opening or using holes cut in the spurs. Though prior to its decline in numbers in the 21st century they were also a significant pollinator of the species in some areas. The broad-tailed hummingbird also visit the blooms, but less frequently than moths or bees.

Conservation. …

The Colorado columbine is regarded as a very attractive species. The botanist Edwin Blake Payson wrote 1918, "Aquilegia caerulea is without a doubt the most showy and splendid American species of this genus." It is used as an ornamental plant in gardens for cut flowers, in border beds, informal gardens, with roses or other shrubs, and in wildlife gardens. It is planted in American gardens for its attractiveness to hummingbirds. It is also recommended as an attractive plant for revegitation of mountain roadsides in its native range by the Office of Natural Environment in the Federal Highway Administration. The species was adopted as a garden plant very soon after its scientific description, with its introduction to the United Kingdom coming in 1864. Colorado columbine is winter hardy in USDA zones 3–8, RHS zone H5. Plants in cultivation grow most successfully in average to medium garden soil that is well drained and even moisture. They may be grown by gardeners in full sun or partial shade, but plants grow best in light to moderate shade. Compared to other columbine species it is more tolerant of heat and drought, but is not as long lived in gardens. It is propagated both by seed and the division of plants. …

Though it is not the standard form for a columbine, the long spurs and shape of the Colorado columbine's flower is the most recognized in the genus. The white and lavender variety of the columbine was officially instituted as the flower symbol of Colorado on 4 April 1899 by an act of the Colorado General Assembly. In 1925 the species was protected by law in Colorado, preventing needless destruction or waste of the flowers. It prohibits the digging or uprooting Colorado columbine plants on public lands and prohibits picking more than twenty-five flowers, buds, or stems in one day. In 1930 Albert B. Sanford, Assistant Curator of History at the State Historical Society, wrote that the flower was chosen as the state flower with the blue representing the blue skies and, "the white represent the snowy ranges of the mountains, and the yellow, the gold that first attracted people here in 1858." Three airplanes used by Dwight D. Eisenhower, one as a General and the Columbine II and Columbine III as President, were named for the state flower of Colorado. The name was selected by Eisenhower's grandchildren because of the connections of his wife, Mamie Doud, to the state. …