Aquilegia pubescens

Aquilegia pubescens
Conservation status
	; Vulnerable (NatureServe)
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Plantae
Clade:	Tracheophytes
Clade:	Angiosperms
Clade:	Eudicots
Order:	Ranunculales
Family:	Ranunculaceae
Genus:	Aquilegia
Species:	A. pubescens
Binomial name
	Aquilegia pubescens; Coville

Aquilegia pubescens is a high-altitude species of columbine known by the common names Sierra columbine, alpine columbine and Coville's columbine. Its flowers are large and usually a creamy white.

Distribution and habitat

This wildflower is endemic to California, where it is a resident of the High Sierra. It is found in alpine and subalpine climates, often on open, rocky slopes, between 8,000 and 12,000 ft.^[2]

Description

This leafy columbine rarely reaches half a meter-1.5 feet in height. The showy flowers are erect or spreading, rather than drooping. The characteristic spurs may be up to 5 centimeters long and the flowers up to 5 cm wide. The sepals (outer ring) and the petals (inner, with spurs) are generally cream or white, less often pink or yellow. The round, fused mouth protrudes, enclosing a cluster of long yellow stamens.^[2]

Hybrids

Aquilegia pubescens can hybridize with the lower-elevation Aquilegia formosa (crimson columbine) where their ranges overlap. This produces flowers with intermediate color, spur length, and orientation, as shown in the transition-series image, providing a change also in pollinator species: hawkmoths for A. pubescens and hummingbirds for A. formosa.^[3]

Gallery

Aquilegia pubescens flower, full-face
Aquilegia pubescens bud & flowers
An unusual Aquilegia pubescens at Red Butte Gardens

References

^ "NatureServe Explorer - Aquilegia pubescens". NatureServe Explorer Aquilegia pubescens. NatureServe. 2022-05-30. Retrieved 30 May 2022.
^ ^a ^b Bruce G. Baldwin; et al. (2012). The Jepson Manual, Vascular Plants of California (2nd ed.). University of California Press. ISBN 9780520253124.
^ Elizabeth Wenk (2015). Wildflowers of the High Sierra and John Muir Trail. Wilderness Press. ISBN 9780899977386.

External links

[TNC_status_30_May_2022-1] "NatureServe Explorer - Aquilegia pubescens". NatureServe Explorer Aquilegia pubescens. NatureServe. 2022-05-30. Retrieved 30 May 2022.

[Jepson-2] Bruce G. Baldwin; et al. (2012). The Jepson Manual, Vascular Plants of California (2nd ed.). University of California Press. ISBN 9780520253124.

[Wenk-3] Elizabeth Wenk (2015). Wildflowers of the High Sierra and John Muir Trail. Wilderness Press. ISBN 9780899977386.

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