Aquilegia pubescens

Vulnerable  (NatureServe)[1]
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Tracheophytes
Clade: Angiosperms
Clade: Eudicots
Order: Ranunculales
Family: Ranunculaceae
Genus: Aquilegia
Species:
A. pubescens
Binomial name
Aquilegia pubescens

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]

Transition of hybrid forms between the white A. pubescens and the red-&-yellow A. formosa

References

  1. ↑ "NatureServe Explorer - Aquilegia pubescens". NatureServe Explorer Aquilegia pubescens. NatureServe. 2022-05-30. Retrieved 30 May 2022.
  2. 1 2 Bruce G. Baldwin; et al. (2012). The Jepson Manual, Vascular Plants of California (2nd ed.). University of California Press. ISBN 9780520253124.
  3. ↑ Elizabeth Wenk (2015). Wildflowers of the High Sierra and John Muir Trail. Wilderness Press. ISBN 9780899977386.
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