Colorado State Flower

Columbine Flower or Rocky Mountain Columbine-White and Lavender (Aquilegia caerules) is the official Colorado State Flower. Columbine flower is a spring-blooming flower. The Columbine flower (Colorado Blue Columbine) was designated as the Colorado state flower in April, 1899. The Columbine Flower, also known as the Colorado Columbine, was named from a Latin word Columba, which means dove, as it looked like the bird of peace.

Kingdom :Plantae


Division ;Magnoliophyta


Class :Magnoliopsida


Order :Ranunculales


Family :Ranunculaceae
Genus: Aquilegia

Columbine flowers grow from Nova Scotia to the Northwest territories and continue South into areas of Florida and Texas. Several species of Columbine flowers are grown in gardens for ornamental and landscaping purposes. Aquilegia vulgaris - a European Columbine is a traditional garden flower in British Isles, and several of the species that are native to North America are popular garden plants. Columbine flowers are known for their distinctive bell-shaped flowers, with each petal modified into an elongated nectar spur, and are very fragrant.

In 1925, the General Assembly prohibited the destruction of this rare species - Columbine flowers. Columbine flowers are very variable in color, from pale blue (as in the species name caerulea) to white, pale yellow and pinkish. Very commonly the Columbine flowers are bicolored, with the sepals a different shade to the petals. The Columbine flower is the most honored state flower in all of the United States. The Columbine flower transforms into a fruit with in five erect follicles and shiny black seeds.






Columbine plants are popular for their distinctly unique Columbine flowers, which range in a variety of colors and spur lengths. The Columbine flowers are nodding at the tips with spurs that point upwards, and numerous yellow stamens project downward, well past the petals and sepals. The unique Columbine flower shape makes the plant well suited for attracting long-tongued nectar feeders, especially hawk moths and hummingbirds, while at the same time preventing small bees from reaching the nectar directly. Because of the hummingbird's slender bill and long tongue, the petite bird is able to reach the Columbine flower nectar from the base of the spur, ultimately acting as the Columbine Flower's most efficient pollinator.






Facts About Columbine Flowers


•Columbine plants grow from long carrot-like taproots, which aid in making them drought tolerant, and also caus the plant to be more difficult to move once established.


•The Columbine plant grows best in light shade but will tolerate full sun if daytime temperatures are not too hot.


•Columbine plants grow best in enriched garden soils that are well drained, avoiding heavy, slow draining clay soils. Columbine likes evenly moist soil.Columbine plants grow best in enriched garden soils that are well drained, avoiding heavy, slow draining clay soils. Columbine likes evenly moist soil.


•Columbine is grown easily from seed and typically blooms in the months of April thru July .


•Numerous other species and hybrids exist and range in a variety of climatic zones, colors, and heights.


•Columbines thrive in full sun or partial shade with rich, evenly moist, well-drained soils.


•If grown in full sun, Columbine Flowers generally bloom more extensively and are more compact in growth than those grown in shade.


•Columbine flowers have a rich history in the herbal market. Native Americans were said to have used infusions from different parts of the plant for a variety of diseases ranging from heart problems to fever, and even to help relieve the pain of poison ivy.


•Columbine species cross pollinate easily, ultimately producing a variety of different hybrids.


•Similar in origin to Aquilegia canadensis (wild columbine), Aquilegia chrysantha (golden columbine) originated in southwest North America and is known for its large golden flowers and tall stems, reaching 3-4 feet tall.


•Aquilegia vulgaris, or Granny's bonnet, is typically 1-3 feet tall with short-spurred, purplish blue flowers that bloom in late spring and early summer.


•One common problem often seen among Columbine Flowers species is the presence of leaf miners, which produce unsightly, pale green lines on the leaves.


•Columbine flower' plants are used as food plants by some Lepidoptera species