Aquilegia canadensis

Last updated

Aquilegia canadensis
Wild Columbine.jpg
Status TNC G5.svg
Secure  (NatureServe) [1]
Scientific classification OOjs UI icon edit-ltr.svg
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Tracheophytes
Clade: Angiosperms
Clade: Eudicots
Order: Ranunculales
Family: Ranunculaceae
Genus: Aquilegia
Species:
A. canadensis
Binomial name
Aquilegia canadensis
L.
Synonyms
List of synonyms
  • Aquilegia australisSmall
  • Aquilegia canadensis f. albifloraHouse
  • Aquilegia canadensis ssp. americanaRapaics
  • Aquilegia canadensis var. aureaOpret
  • Aquilegia canadensis var. australis(Small) Munz
  • Aquilegia canadensis var. canadensis
  • Aquilegia canadensis var. coccinea(Small) Munz
  • Aquilegia canadensis f. ecalcarataLivingston
  • Aquilegia canadensis var. flaviflora(Tenney) Britton
  • Aquilegia canadensis f. flaviflora(Tenney) Britton ex House
  • Aquilegia canadensis f. flaviflora(Tenney) Britton
  • Aquilegia canadensis f. gartneri(Borbás) Rapaics
  • Aquilegia canadensis var. hybridaHook.
  • Aquilegia canadensis var. latiuscula(Greene) Munz
  • Aquilegia canadensis var. longistylaRegel
  • Aquilegia canadensis var. phippeniiJ.Rob.
  • Aquilegia canadensis f. phippenii(J.Rob.) Ralph Hoffm.
  • Aquilegia canadensis var. veraBrühl
  • Aquilegia canadensis var. violaceaNutt.
  • Aquilegia coccineaSmall
  • Aquilegia elegansSalisb. [2]
  • Aquilegia eminensGreene
  • Aquilegia flavifloraTenney
  • Aquilegia latiusculaGreene
  • Aquilegia phoenicanthaCory
  • Aquilegia variegataMoench

Aquilegia canadensis, the Canadian or Canada columbine, eastern red columbine, or wild columbine, is a species of flowering plant in the buttercup family Ranunculaceae. It is an herbaceous perennial native to woodland and rocky slopes in eastern North America, prized for its red and yellow flowers. It readily hybridizes with other species in the genus Aquilegia.

Contents

Description

The plant is 15–90 cm (6–35 in) tall. The fern-like leaves are lobed and grouped in threes, growing from the base and off the flowering stems. The flowers are 1–2 in (2.5–5.1 cm) long and have yellow petals with a red spur and red sepals. They appear in late spring (usually in May and June), nodding on stems above the leaves. The round end of the spur contains nectar, which is sought by butterflies and hummingbirds. [3]

The caterpillars of columbine duskywing ( Erynnis lucilius ) feed on the leaves. [4]

Cultivation

Aquilegia canadensis is a highly decorative plant, valued for its attractive foliage and showy flowers. For this reason it is widely grown outside its native region, in temperate regions of the Northern Hemisphere.

The plant is easily propagated from seed, and blooms the second year from sowing. It is relatively long lived in the garden. It grows well in shade, and in sun with proper moisture. [5]

The cultivar "Little Lanterns" only grows to around 25 cm (10 in). It is also thought to have higher resistance to leaf miner. [6]

Other uses

Native North American tribes[ which? ] used various parts of red columbine in herbal remedies for ailments such as headache, sore throat, fever, rash caused by poison ivy, stomatitis, kidney and urinary problems, and heart problems. [7] Native American men also rubbed crushed seeds on their hands as a love charm. [8] [ which? ]

Toxicity

Canada columbine contains a cyanogenic glycoside, which releases poisonous hydrogen cyanide when the plant is damaged. [9]

Distribution

Aquilegia canadensis is found across the United States (AL, AR, CT, DC, DE, FL, GA, IA, IL, IN, KS, KY, MA, MD, ME, MI, MN, MO, MS, NC, ND, NE, NM, NH, NJ, NY, OH, OK, PA, RI, SC, SD, TN, TX, VA, VT, WI, WV) and Canada (MB, NB, ON, QC, SK, BC). [10]

Wetland indicator status

Wetland is an extremely valuable but limited resource in the USA. Wetland indicator status is used to determine which native plant species can provide information about the presence of wetland in a given area. Essentially, if a plant thrives in a particular area, it means there is a greater likelihood of wetland there. Aquilegia canadensis is one such species.

Related Research Articles

<i>Aquilegia</i> Genus of perennial plants (columbine)

Aquilegia is a genus of about 130 species of perennial plants that are found in meadows, woodlands, and at higher elevations throughout the Northern Hemisphere, known for the spurred petals of their flowers.

<i>Aquilegia formosa</i> Western North American species of columbine

Aquilegia formosa, the crimson columbine, western columbine, or (ambiguously) "red columbine", is a common wildflower native to western North America, from Alaska to Baja California, and eastward to Montana and Wyoming.

<i>Rudbeckia hirta</i> Species of flowering plant

Rudbeckia hirta, commonly called black-eyed Susan, is a North American flowering plant in the family Asteraceae, native to Eastern and Central North America and naturalized in the Western part of the continent as well as in China. It has now been found in all 10 Canadian Provinces and all 48 of the states in the contiguous United States.

<i>Symphyotrichum novae-angliae</i> Species of flowering plant in the family Asteraceae

Symphyotrichum novae-angliae is a species of flowering plant in the aster family (Asteraceae) native to central and eastern North America. Commonly known as New England aster, hairy Michaelmas-daisy, or Michaelmas daisy, it is a perennial, herbaceous plant usually between 30 and 120 centimeters tall and 60 to 90 cm wide.

<i>Sanguinaria</i> Genus of flowering plants in the poppy family Papaveraceae

Sanguinaria canadensis, bloodroot, is a perennial, herbaceous flowering plant native to eastern North America. It is the only species in the genus Sanguinaria, included in the poppy family Papaveraceae, and is most closely related to Eomecon of eastern Asia.

<i>Aquilegia coerulea</i> North American species of columbine

Aquilegia coerulea, the Colorado columbine, Rocky Mountain columbine, or blue columbine, is a species of flowering plant in the buttercup family Ranunculaceae, native to the Rocky Mountains and some of the surrounding states of the western United States. It is the state flower of Colorado. The Latin specific name coerulea means "sky blue".

<i>Cornus canadensis</i> Species of flowering plant

Cornus canadensis is a species of flowering plant in the dogwood family Cornaceae, native to eastern Asia and North America. Common names include Canadian dwarf cornel, Canadian bunchberry, quatre-temps, crackerberry, and creeping dogwood. Unlike its relatives, which are for the most part substantial trees and shrubs, C. canadensis is a creeping, rhizomatous perennial growing to about 20 centimetres tall.

<i>Aquilegia vulgaris</i> European native species of columbine

Aquilegia vulgaris is a species of columbine native to Europe with common names that include: European columbine, common columbine, granny's nightcap, and granny's bonnet. It is a flowering herbaceous perennial plant growing to 1.2 m tall, with branched, thinly hairy stems. The leaves are biternate; each leaf has three groups of three leaflets. The flowers, in various shades of purple, blue, pink and white, are pendent or horizontal with strongly hooked spurs, and appear in early summer.

<i>Erigeron canadensis</i> Species of flowering plant in the daisy family Asteraceae

Erigeron canadensis is an annual plant native throughout most of North America and Central America. It is also widely naturalized in Eurasia and Australia. Common names include horseweed, Canadian horseweed, Canadian fleabane, coltstail, marestail, and butterweed. It was the first weed to have developed glyphosate resistance, reported in 2001 from Delaware.

<i>Quercus lyrata</i> Species of oak tree

Quercus lyrata, the overcup oak, is an oak in the white oak group. The common name, overcup oak, refers to its acorns that are mostly enclosed within the acorn cup. It is native to lowland wetlands in the eastern and south-central United States, in all the coastal states from New Jersey to Texas, inland as far as Oklahoma, Missouri, and Illinois. There are historical reports of it growing in Iowa, but the species appears to have been extirpated there. It is a slow-growing tree that often takes 25 to 30 years to mature. It has an estimated lifespan of 400 years.

<i>Anemonastrum canadense</i> Species of flowering plant in the buttercup family Ranunculaceae

Anemonastrum canadense, synonym Anemone canadensis, the Canada anemone, round-headed anemone, round-leaf thimbleweed, meadow anemone, windflower, or crowfoot, is a herbaceous perennial flowering plant in the family Ranunculaceae. It is native to moist meadows, thickets, streambanks, and lakeshores in North America, spreading rapidly by underground rhizomes. It is valued for its white flowers.

<i>Thalictrum thalictroides</i> Species of flowering plant

Thalictrum thalictroides, the rue-anemone or windflower, is a herbaceous perennial plant native to woodland in eastern North America. It has white or pink flowers surrounded by a whorl of leaflets, and it blooms in spring.

<i>Solidago canadensis</i> Species of flowering plant

Solidago canadensis, known as Canada goldenrod or Canadian goldenrod, is an herbaceous perennial plant of the family Asteraceae. It is native to northeastern and north-central North America and often forms colonies of upright growing plants, with many small yellow flowers in a branching inflorescence held above the foliage. It is an invasive plant in other parts of the continent and several areas worldwide, including Europe and Asia. It is grown as an ornamental in flower gardens.

<i>Lonicera sempervirens</i> Species of honeysuckle

Lonicera sempervirens is a flowering plant species of honeysuckle vine native to the eastern United States which is known for its reddish flowers.

<i>Symphyotrichum lateriflorum</i> Species of flowering plant in the family Asteraceae native to central and eastern North America

Symphyotrichum lateriflorum is a species of flowering plant in the aster family (Asteraceae). Commonly known as calico aster, starved aster, and white woodland aster, it is native to eastern and central North America. It is a perennial and herbaceous plant that may reach heights up to 120 centimeters and widths up to 30 centimeters.

<i>Aquilegia pubescens</i> Californian endemic species of columbine

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.

<i>Aquilegia viridiflora</i> West Asian species of columbine

Aquilegia viridiflora, commonly known as the green columbine or green-flowered columbine, is a species of flowering plant in the buttercup family. Its native range is southern Siberia to northern China, and Japan. It is an herbaceous perennial, and grows 15 cm to 50 cm tall, with a maximum spread of approximately 30 cm. Although it is grown as an ornamental, it may be considered a weed.

<i>Aquilegia barnebyi</i> North American species of columbine

Aquilegia barnebyi, commonly known as the oil shale columbine or Barneby's columbine, is a perennial species of flowering plant in the buttercup family, with a native range comprising northeastern Utah and northwestern Colorado in the United States. It is named after Rupert Charles Barneby, who, with Harry Dwight Dillon Ripley, first discovered it in Colorado.

<i>Aquilegia truncata</i> Western North American species of columbine

Aquilegia truncata, also known as the red columbine, is a flowering plant in the genus Aquilegia.

<i>Aquilegia <span style="font-style:normal;">×</span> hybrida</i> Species of flowering plants

Aquilegia × hybrida is a hybrid species of columbine, the result of a cross between Aquilegia vulgaris and Aquilegia canadensis.

References

  1. NatureServe (1 December 2023). "Aquilegia canadensis". NatureServe Network Biodiversity Location Data accessed through NatureServe Explorer. Arlington, Virginia: NatureServe. Retrieved 24 December 2023.
  2. Salisb. Prodr. Stirp. Chap. Allerton 374 1796
  3. "Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center - The University of Texas at Austin". www.wildflower.org. Retrieved 2021-12-20.
  4. "Columbine Duskywing". Butterflies and Moths of North America. Metalmark Web and Data. Retrieved 11 May 2024.
  5. "1998 Wild Columbine (Aquilegia Canadensis) | VNPS". Virginia Native Plant Society. Retrieved 2024-05-22.
  6. "Aquilegia canadensis 'Little Lanterns' - Plant Finder". www.missouribotanicalgarden.org. Retrieved 2024-08-27.
  7. "Red Columbine" (PDF). PLANTS Database. United States Department of Agriculture Natural Resources Conservation Service. Retrieved 12 June 2016.
  8. "Aquilegia canadensis". NPIN: Native Plants Database. Lady Bird Johnson Wildlife Center. Retrieved 12 June 2016.
  9. Alfs, Matthew (2001). Edible and Medicinal Plants of Minnesota and Wisconsin. Old Theology Book House. p. 99. ISBN   0961296437.
  10. Flora of North America Editorial Committee (ed.). "Aquilegia canadensis". Flora of North America North of Mexico (FNA). New York and Oxford: Oxford University Press via eFloras.org, Missouri Botanical Garden, St. Louis, MO & Harvard University Herbaria, Cambridge, MA.