Aquilegia caerulea
Aquilegia caerulea | |
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Aquilegia caerulea | |
Scientific classification | |
Kingdom: | Plantae |
(unranked): | Angiosperms |
(unranked): | Eudicots |
Order: | Ranunculales |
Family: | Ranunculaceae |
Genus: | Aquilegia |
Species: | A. caerulea |
Binomial name | |
Aquilegia caerulea James | |
Aquilegia caerulea is a species of Aquilegia flower native to the Rocky Mountains from Montana south to New Mexico and west to Idaho and Arizona. Its common name is Colorado Blue Columbine; sometimes it is called "Rocky Mountain Columbine", but this properly refers to Aquilegia saximontana.
![](../I/m/Colorado_Blue_Columbine.jpg)
![](../I/m/Aquilegia_caerulea0.jpg)
It is a herbaceous perennial plant growing to 20–60 cm tall. The flowers are very variable in color, from pale blue (as in the species name caerulea) to white, pale yellow and pinkish; very commonly the flowers are bicolored, with the sepals a different shade to the petals.
Aquilegia caerulea is the state flower of Colorado. It is also an ornamental plant in gardens, with numerous cultivars selected for different flower colors.
There are five varieties:
- Aquilegia caerulea var. alpina
- Aquilegia caerulea var. caerulea
- Aquilegia caerulea var. daileyae
- Aquilegia caerulea var. ochroleuca
- Aquilegia caerulea var. pinetorum
Cultivation
![](../I/m/Aquilegia_caerulea_'Crimson_Star'_Spectral_comparison_Vis_UV_IR.jpg)
Cultivars include 'Origami' [1] and 'Crimson Star'.
External links
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Wikimedia Commons has media related to Aquilegia caerulea. |