Aquilegia formosa Fisch. ex DC.
Sitka columbine (Northern Anemone; red columbine; western columbine; Western pasqueflower)
Ranunculaceae (Buttercup family)
Introduction to Vascular Plants
Sitka columbine (Northern Anemone; red columbine; western columbine; Western pasqueflower)
Ranunculaceae (Buttercup family)
Introduction to Vascular Plants
SUBTAXA PRESENT IN BC
Aquilegia formosa var. formosa
Species Information
General:
Perennial herb from a taprooted, usually branched, woody stem-base; stems erect, 15-100 cm tall, smooth below, sparsely hairy and smooth above especially in inflorescence.
Leaves:
Basal leaves 10-40 cm long (including long stalks), much shorter than stems, twice 3-parted, the first set of 3 stalks 16-95 mm long (the leaflets not crowded), smooth or long soft-hairy, each leaflet 14-68 mm long, 2- to 3-times shallowly to deeply lobed, thin, usually hairy and with a bloom beneath, not glandular; stem leaves few, shorter-stalked.
Flowers:
Inflorescence of several nodding to hanging flowers in a terminal cyme, the flowers 3-5 cm wide; bracts leaf-like but greatly reduced, unstalked; petals 5, distinct, the spurs red, knobbed, 13-21 mm long, stout, abruptly narrowed near middle, with straight tips, not curved in, the blades yellow, oblong, sometimes absent, to 6 mm long, 4-6 mm wide; sepals 5, pale to deep red, widely spreading, elliptic to lance-shaped, 10-26 mm long, 4-9 mm wide, tips pointed to sharp-pointed; stamens 12-17 mm long.
Fruits:
Follicles, 5, erect, egg-shaped, 15-25 (29) mm long, hairy; beaks 9-12 mm long; seeds black, egg-shaped, wrinkled and pebbled.
USDA Species Characteristics
Flower Colour:
Red
Blooming Period:
Spring
Fruit/Seed characteristics:
Colour: Brown
Present from Summer to Fall
Source: The USDA
Ecology
Ecological Framework for Aquilegia formosa
The table below shows the species-specific information calculated from
original data (BEC database) provided by the BC Ministry of Forests and Range.
(Updated August, 2013)
The table below shows the species-specific information calculated from
original data (BEC database) provided by the BC Ministry of Forests and Range.
(Updated August, 2013)
| Site Information |
Value / Class |
||
|
Avg |
Min |
Max |
|
| Elevation
(metres) |
1083 | 5 | 2089 |
| Slope
Gradient (%) |
19 | 0 | 220 |
|
Aspect (degrees) |
207 | 0 | 360 |
| Soil
Moisture Regime (SMR) [0 - very xeric; 4 - mesic; 8 - hydric] |
4 | 0 | 7 |
| Modal
Nutrient Regime
Class |
C | ||
| #
of field plots species was recorded in: |
866 | ||
| Modal
BEC Zone Class |
SBS | ||
|
All BEC Zones (# of stations/zone) species was recorded in |
AT(1), BWBS(23), CDF(1), CMA(1), CWH(56), ESSF(173), ICH(80), IDF(63), MH(3), MS(137), PP(4), SBPS(20), SBS(259), SWB(1) | ||
|
Source:
Klinkenberg 2013
|
|||
Habitat and Range
Mesic to moist meadows, rocky slopes, thickets, clearings, roadsides and open forests in all zones except the alpine; common throughout BC; N to SW AK and S YT, E to SW AB and S to UT and CA.Status Information
Synonyms
Synonyms and Alternate Names:
Aquilegia formosa var. communis Boivin
Aquilegia formosa var. fosteri Welsh
Aquilegia formosa var. hypolasia (Greene) Munz
Aquilegia formosa var. megalantha Boivin
Aquilegia formosa var. pauciflora (Greene) Boothman
Aquilegia formosa var. truncata (Fisch. & C.A. Mey.) Baker
Aquilegia formosa var. wawawensis (Payson) St. John
Aquilegia fosteri (S.L. Welsh) S.L. Welsh
Aquilegia mohavensis Munz
Aquilegia shockleyi Eastw.