Colorado Blue Columbine
Aquilegia coerulea
Buttercup family (Ranunculaceae)
A striking mountain denizen, Blue Columbine is the state flower of Colorado. It has a broad habitat range, thriving on hot, dry, talus slopes and in moist, shady forests; its color varies through a wonderful range of whites, blues, and purples. In the late summer, the plant's leaves turn subtle combinations of maroons, reds, pinks, and greens. When the plant is in bloom it is unmistakable, but its leaves are often confused with those of Meadowrue Thalictrum fendleri. The leaves of Meadowrue are smaller and the are circular in outline versus triangular.
Edwin James discovered this plant for science when he was on the 1820 Long Expedition in Colorado. He named and described the plant in 1823. The spelling of the epithet is variable; some botanists spell it "caerulea," most "coerulea." The reason for the two spellings is almost certainly James' mistake: on the type specimen he spelled it "coerulea," but on some other specimens he collected, he spelled it "caerulea."
©2009 Jerry Oldenettel
