Aquilegia flabellata 'Verna Alba'

• Interesting Facts
• Common Names
• Description
• Biology
• Taxonomy
• Similar Species
• More Info
• Further Reading
• Notes

Interesting Facts

Common Names

Description

Family Ranunculaceae

Herbs perennial or annual , sometimes subshrubs or herbaceous or woody vines . Leaves basal and cauline, alternate, rarely opposite or whorled , simple or variously compound , palmately nerved, rarely penninerved , with or without stipules. Inflorescence a simple or compound monochasium, dichasium, simple or compound raceme, or flowers solitary. Flowers bisexual , sometimes unisexual , actinomorphic , rarely zygomorphic, hypogynous. Sepals 3--6 or more, free , petaloid or sepaloid , imbricate or sometimes valvate in bud. Petals present or absent, 2--8 or more, free, usually with nectaries. Stamens numerous , rarely few, free; filaments linear or filiform ; anthers latrorse , introrse , or extrorse ; sometimes some sterile stamens becoming staminodes. Carpels numerous or few, rarely 1, free, rarely connate to various degrees ; ovary with 1 to many ovules. Fruit follicles or achenes, rarely capsules or berries . Seeds small, with abundant endosperm and minute embryo.

About 60 genera and 2500 species: worldwide, but richly represented in N temperate regions , particularly in E Asia; 38 genera (four endemic) and 921 species (604 endemic) in China.[1]

Genus Aquilegia

Herbs, perennial , from slender woody rhizomes. Leaves basal and cauline, proximal leaves petiolate , distal leaves sessile; cauline leaves alternate. Leaf blade 1-3×-ternately compound , leaflets lobed or parted , margins crenate . Inflorescences terminal , 1-10-flowered cymes or solitary flowers, to 30 cm; bracts leaflike, not forming involucre. Flowers bisexual , radially symmetric ; sepals not persistent in fruit, 5, white to blue, yellow, or red, plane , narrowly ovate to oblong-lanceolate, short-clawed, 7-51 mm; petals 5, distinct , white to blue, yellow, or red, oblong to rounded or spatulate blade, 0-30 mm, base backward-pointing tubular spur, apex plane; nectary in ± enlarged tip of spur; stamens many; filaments filiform ; scalelike staminodes usually present between stamens and pistils; pistils 5-10, simple ; ovules many per pistil; beak present. Fruits follicles, aggregate, sessile, cylindric , sides prominently veined; beak terminal, straight, 3-26 mm. Seeds black, obovoid , smooth . x = 7.

Species ca. 70: circumboreal .

Species of Aquilegia are polymorphic and difficult to define adequately. Some of the variability is because of introgressive hybridization . Even distantly related species of columbine are often freely interfertile , and many cases of natural hybridization and introgression are known from North America. Only the most important are mentioned below. In arid areas Aquilegia species tend to form small populations often completely isolated from one another. This leads to local fixation of genes and therefore increased variability in species such as A. micrantha and A. desertorum. In addition, populations with spurless petals are occasionally found in many species.[2]

Physical Description

Biology

Growth

Culture: Space 15-18" apart.

Soil: Minimum pH: 5.6 • Maximum pH: 7.8

Sunlight: Sun Exposure: Full Sun .

Temperature: Cold Hardiness: 3a, 3b, 4a, 4b, 5a, 5b, 6a, 6b, 7a, 7b, 8a, 8b. (map)

Taxonomy

Similar Species

Members of the genus Aquilegia

ZipcodeZoo has pages for 173 species, subspecies, varieties, forms, and cultivars in this genus. Here are just 100 of them:

A. alpina (Alpine Columbine) · A. alpina 'Alba' (Alpine Columbine) · A. atrata (Dark Columbine) · A. atrovinosa (Columbine) · A. barbaricina (Barbaricina Colombine) · A. barnebyi (Barneby's Columbine) · A. bertolonii (Apennines Columbine) · A. brevistyla (Small-Flower Columbine) · A. buergeriana 'Calimero' (Calimero Columbine) · A. caerulea (Colorado Blue Columbine) · A. caerulea var. alpina (Colorado Alpine Columbine) · A. caerulea var. caerulea (Colorado Blue Columbine) · A. caerulea var. daileyae (Dailey's Columbine) · A. caerulea var. ochroleuca (White Colorado Columbine) · A. caerulea var. pinetorum (Colorado Blue Columbine) · A. caerulea 'Sahasrara' (Rocky Mountain Columbine) · A. canadensis (American Columbine) · A. canadensis var. formosa (Wild Columbine) · A. canadensis 'Corbett' (Dwarf Yellow Columbine) · A. canadensis 'Little Lanterns' (Canadian Columbine) · A. canadensis 'Nana' (Canadian Columbine) · A. chrysantha (Golden Columbine) · A. chrysantha var. chaplinei (Chaplins Golden Columbine) · A. chrysantha var. chaplinei 'Little Treasure' (Chaplins Golden Columbine) · A. chrysantha var. chrysantha (Golden Columbine) · A. chrysantha var. hinckleyana (Hinckley's Columbine) · A. chrysantha var. rydbergii (Golden Columbine) · A. chrysantha 'Denver Gold' (Columbine) · A. chrysantha 'Flore Pleno' (Yellow Columbine) · A. chrysantha 'Yellow Star' (Yellow Columbine) · A. desertorum (Arizona Columbine) · A. ecalcarata (Paraquilegia) · A. ecalcarata 'Flore Pleno' (Paraquilegia) · A. elegantula (Western Red Columbine) · A. eximia (Serpentine Columbine) · A. flabellata (Fan Columbine) · A. flabellata f. kurilensis 'Rosea' (Dwarf Fan Columbine) · A. flabellata var. pumila (Dwarf Fan Columbine) · A. flabellata var. pumila 'Alba' (White Dwarf Fan Columbine) · A. flabellata var. pumila 'Silver Edge' (Dwarf Fan Columbine) · A. flabellata 'Alba' (Dwarf Fan Columbine) · A. flabellata 'Blue Angel' (Japanese Fan Columbine) · A. flabellata 'Cameo' (Fan Columbine) · A. flabellata 'Cameo Mix' (Cameo Pink Columbine) · A. flabellata 'Verna Alba' (Fan Columbine) · A. flavescens (Crimson Columbine) · A. flavescens var. flavescens (Yellow Columbine) · A. flavescens var. miniata (Yellow Columbine) · A. flavescens var. rubicunda (Yellow Columbine) · A. formosa (Columbine) · A. formosa var. formosa (Crimson Columbine) · A. fragrans (Fragrant Grannys Bonnet Aquilegia Fragrans) · A. glandulosa (Siberian Columbine) · A. grahamii (Graham's Columbine) · A. hinckleyana var. hinckleyana (Hinckley´s Columbine) · A. jonesii (Jones Columbine) · A. jonesii var. elatior (Blue Limestone Columbine) · A. jonesii var. jonesii (Jones' Columbine) · A. karelinii (Afghan Columbine) · A. laramiensis (Laramie Columbine) · A. longissima (Long-Spur Columbine) · A. micrantha (Bluff City Columbine) · A. micrantha var. mancosana (Mancos Columbine) · A. micrantha var. micrantha (Mancos Columbine) · A. nigricans (Bulgarian Columbine) · A. nuragica (Nuragica Columbine) · A. olympica (Columbine) · A. ottonis (Columbine) · A. Perfumed Garden Group (Columbine Perfumed Garden Group) · A. pubescens (Sierra Columbine) · A. pyrenaica (Pyrenees Columbine) · A. rockii (Columbine) · A. saximontana (Rocky Mountain Blue Columbine) · A. scopulorum (Blue Columbine) · A. scopulorum perpleaxans (Rock Columbine) · A. scopulorum var. calcarea (Utah Columbine) · A. scopulorum var. scopulorum (Utah Columbine) · A. sibirica (Siberian Columbine) · A. skinneri (Aquilegia) · A. skinneri 'Tequila Sunrise' (Aquilegia) · A. triternata (Chiricahua Mountain Columbine) · A. viridiflora (Green-Flowered Columbine Aquilegia Viridiflora) · A. viridiflora 'Chocolate Soldier' (Green-Flowered Columbine) · A. vulgaris (Black Barlow Columbine) · A. vulgaris var. flore-pleno (Double European Columbine) · A. vulgaris var. oxysepala (Granny´s-Bonnet) · A. vulgaris var. plena 'Ruby Port' (Columbine) · A. vulgaris var. stellata (Clematis-Flowered Columbine) · A. vulgaris var. stellata 'Barlow Mix' (Clematis-Flowered Columbine) · A. vulgaris var. stellata 'Black Barlow' (Clematis-Flowered Columbine) · A. vulgaris var. stellata 'Blue Barlow' (Blue Barlow Columbine) · A. vulgaris var. stellata 'Christa Barlow' (Clematis-Flowered Columbine) · A. vulgaris var. stellata 'Clematiflora Alba' (Clematis-Flowered Columbine) · A. vulgaris var. stellata 'Firewheel' (Clematis-Flowered Columbine) · A. vulgaris var. stellata 'Green Apples' (Clematis-Flowered Columbine) · A. vulgaris var. stellata 'Nora Barlow' (Nora Barlow Clematis-Flowered Columbine Aquilegia Vulgaris Var. Stellata) · A. vulgaris var. stellata 'Nora Barlow White' (Clematis-Flowered Columbine) · A. vulgaris var. stellata 'Pink and Purple Shades' (Clematis-Flowered Columbine) · A. vulgaris var. stellata 'Rose Barlow' (Clematis-Flowered Columbine) · A. vulgaris var. stellata 'Royal Purple' (Clematis-Flowered Columbine)

More Info

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Further Reading

• Munz, P. A. 1946. The cultivated and wild columbines. Gentes Herb. 7: 1-150.
• Payson, E. B. 1918. The North American species of Aquilegia. Contr. U.S. Natl. Herb. 20: 133-157.

Notes

Contributors

• Brands, S.J. (comp.) 1989-present. The Taxonomicon. Universal Taxonomic Services, Zwaag, The Netherlands. Accessed April 30, 2012.

Identifiers

• Zipcode Zoo Species Identifier: 972691

Footnotes

1. Wencai Wang, Dezhi Fu, Liang-Qian Li, Bruce Bartholomew, Anthony R. Brach, Bryan E. Dutton, Michael G. Gilbert, Yuichi Kadota, Orbélia R. Robinson, Michio Tamura, Michael J. Warnock, Guanghua Zhu & Svetlana N. Ziman "Ranunculaceae". in Flora of China Vol. 6 Page 133. Published by Science Press (Beijing) and Missouri Botanical Garden Press. Online at EFloras.org. [back]
2. Alan T. Whittemore "Aquilegia". in Flora of North America Vol. 3. Oxford University Press. Online at EFloras.org. [back]

©2004-2012 David Stang. All rights reserved.