Celebrating Wildflowers - Beauty of It All - Aquilegia coerulea, Colorado blue columbine

USDA Forest Service Celebrating Wildflowers

[skip to page content] [skip to page navigation]

	Aquilegia Express: Blue Columbines Blues Aquilegia coerulea, Colorado blue columbine The Colorado blue columbine occurs in Wyoming, Colorado, New Mexico, southeast Idaho, extreme southern Montana, Utah, northwest Nevada, and northern Arizona. Aquilegia coerulea exhibits a variety of colors, as displayed with this and the following images. This flower is the typical subalpine meadow blue and white of the Colorado Rockies. Photo by Steve Olson. Range map of Aquilegia coerulea var. coerulea. Also see range maps for var. alpina, var. ochroleuca, and var. pinetorum. Courtesy of Flora of North America. *Aquilegia coerulea* ranges in height from 15 to 90 cm. The foliage is green not glaucous and the leaves are glabrous above and glabrous to pubescent below. The flowers are erect and white, cream, blue, and sometimes pinkish white. The sepals are blue, pale blue to white, 20 to 40 mm long and spreading to perpendicular. The blades are white rarely blue, 15 to 25 mm long. The spurs are blue, white, or whitish pink, 30 to 45 mm long and spreading. A variety of Colorado blue columbine is spurless. This is a completely dark blue, spurless flower. Photo by Steve Olson. These flowers are white with pinkish tinged spurs. Photo by Teresa Prendusi. These flowers are white with pinkish tinged spurs. Photo by G.A. Cooper, Smithsonian Institution. These flowers are all white! Aquilegia coerulea var. ochroleuca. Photo by Teresa Prendusi. *Aquilegia coerulea* is found growing in subalpine meadows, open woods, and near streams in the mountains. Springtime in the Rocky Mountains Below are three photos of springtime in the Rocky Mountains, where the Colorado blue columbine is a definite standout in subalpine meadows. Aquilegia coerulea var. ochroleuca on the Wasatch Range in Utah. Photo by Teresa Prendusi. Colorado blue columbine. Photo by Teresa Prendusi. Colorado blue columbine. Photo by Steve Olson. For More Information Flora of North America: Aquilegia coerulea PLANTS Profile - Aquilegia coerulea, Colorado blue columbine
Forest Service Home Celebrating Wildflowers Home About Us News & Events Awards News Archives Wildflower Viewing Areas Wildflower Ethics Collection Permits Forest Service Regions Alaska Eastern Intermountain Northern Pacific Northwest Pacific Southwest Rocky Mountain Southern Southwestern Just For Kids Activities Coloring Pages Color Wildflowers Color of Flowers Coloring Books Noxious Weeds Vocabulary Word Search Teacher Resources Pollinators What is Pollination? Birds and Bees Syndromes Animal Pollination Ants Bats Bees Beetles Birds Butterflies Flies Moths Unusual Wasps Fact Sheets Plant Strategies Visual Cues Scent Food Mimicry Entrapment Why is Pollination Important? Pollinator Friendly Practices Gardening for Pollinators Pollinator of the Month The Monarch Butterfly Biology Migration & Overwintering Habitat Needs FAQs Citizen Science Conservation Things You Can Do Teacher and Student Monarch Resources Native Gardening Hardiness Zones Basic Instructions Native Alternatives Genetic Considerations Landscape for Wildlife No-No Plants! Native Plant Materials What Are? Why Use? Policy and Authorities Care About Genetics? Right Plant Materials Gene Conservation Monitoring & Research Species Selection Collecting Seed Process & Test Seed Seed & Nursery Stock Using Native Plants NPM Reports Citizen Scientists Invasive Plants Rare Plants What is a Rare Plant? Why Are Some Rare? Are All Endangered? How Many? Conservation Laws & Regulations Success Stories How Can I Help? Rare Plant Profiles Resources Beauty of It All Columbines Natural History Birds and Bees Columbine Flower Blue Columbines Yellow Columbines Red Columbines Native Irises The Iris Flower Blue Flag Dwarf Woodland Louisiana Pacific Coast Slipper Orchids Interesting Plants Lichens What Are Lichens? What Lichens Are Not Importance Biology Structure Growth Forms Reproduction Habitat Identification Did You Know? Photo Gallery Crustose Lichens Foliose Lichens Fruticose Lichens Viewing Areas Glossary Links & Resources Mycotrophic Plants What are they? Whence They Came Allotropa virgata Hemitomes congestum Monotropa hypopitys Monotropa uniflora Monotropsis odorata Pityopus californica Pleuricospora fimbriolata Pterospora andromedea Sarcodes sanguinea Unique Communities Fading Gold How Aspens Grow Aspen Ecology Aspen Decline Managing Aspen Fall Colors Flowers in the Groves Basque Carvings More Information Serpentines Geology Adaptations Center of Diversity, Endemism, & Rarity Endemics Photo Gallery Rare Plants Plant Communities Darlingtonia Wetlands Foxtail Pine Subalpine Woodland Jeffrey Pine Savanna Jeffrey Pine Shrubland Montane Mixed Conifer Forest Port-Orford-Cedar Rock Outcrops Serpentine Alpine Serpentine Barrens Serpentine Meadows Western White Pine Subalpine Woodland Conservation More Information Ethnobotany Food Dyes Fibers Gums Latex Oils Resins Soaps Tannins Waxes Medicinal Botany Plants of Mind & Spirit Crop Wild Relatives Special Features Fall Colors Books We Use Alaska California Great Plains Intermountain West Midwest Northeast Pacific Northwest Rocky Mountains South Southwest General Interpretive Panels Plant of the Week Posters Wallpapers Wildflower Links Contact Us U.S. Forest Service Rangeland Management Botany Program 1400 Independence Ave., SW, Mailstop Code: 1103 Washington DC 20250-1103
	NOTE: PDF format links require the Adobe Acrobat Reader to view.
top	Disclaimers \| FOIA \| Privacy Policy \| Quality of Information \| Photo Credits & Use