font settings and languages

Font Size: Large | Normal | Small
Font Face: Verdana | Geneva | Georgia
Languages:

Aquilegia micrantha

(Bluff City Columbine)

Interesting Facts

[ Back to top ]
 

Common Names

[ Back to top ]

Common Names in English:

Bluff City Columbine, Mancos Columbine, Small-Flowered Columbine

Description

[ Back to top ]

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

Species Aquilegia micrantha

Stems 30-60 cm. Basal leaves 2-3×-ternately compound , 10-35 cm, much shorter than stems; leaflets green adaxially, to 13-32 mm, viscid ; primary petiolules 21-64 mm (leaflets not crowded), glandular-pubescent or glandular . Flowers erect or nodding ; sepals perpendicular to floral axis, white, cream, blue, or pink, oblong-lanceolate, 8-20 × 3-6 mm, apex acuminate to obtuse ; petals: spurs white or colored like sepals, straight, ± parallel or divergent, 15-30 mm, slender, evenly tapered from base or occasionally ± abruptly narrowed near middle , blades white or cream, oblong , 6-10 × 3-7 mm; stamens 9-14 mm. Follicles 10-20 mm; beak 8-10 mm. [source]

Habit: Forb/herb

Flowers: Bloom Period: Seepy rock walls of canyons ; 1000-2500 m. [3].

Flower Color: lavender, medium blue, near white, pale pink, pink, violet, white, yellow

Size/Age/Growth

Size: 12-18" tall.

Habitat

Seepy rock walls of canyons ; 1000-2500 m. [3].

Biology

[ Back to top ]

Reproduction

Duration: Perennial

Growth

Culture: Space 18-24" apart.

Soil: Minimum pH: 6.1 • Maximum pH: 7.8

Sunlight: Sun Exposure: Full Sun .

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

Taxonomy

[ Back to top ]

Synonyms

A. micrantha var. mancosana Eastwood • Aquilegia Ecalcarata Micrantha • Aquilegia flavescens S. Watson var. rubicunda (Tidestrom) S. L. Welsh

Notes

Name Status: Accepted Name .

Last scrutiny: 15-Mar-2000

Similar Species

[ Back to top ]

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

[ Back to top ]

Further Reading

[ Back to top ]

Notes

[ Back to top ]

Contributors

Data Sources

Accessed through GBIF Data Portal November 16, 2007:

Identifiers

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]
  3. "Aquilegia micrantha". in Flora of North America Vol. 3. Oxford University Press. Online at EFloras.org. [back]
Last Revised: 7/15/2012