Summary: Aquilegia canadensis, known commonly as wild columbine, is a New World wildflower native to eastern North America. Showy flowers nod in red and gold blazes.
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| view of wild columbine's stamens and petals framed by sepals, Pleasant Valley Conservancy Wisconsin State Natural Area #551, Dane County, south central Wisconsin: Joshua Mayer (wackybadger), CC BY SA 2.0, via Flickr |
Aquilegia canadensis is a New World wildflower native to eastern North America.
The brilliant perennial ranges from two of western Canada's prairie provinces of Saskatchewan and Manitoba eastward across Ontario, Quebec and New Brunswick.
In the United States, Aquilegia canadensis claims homelands in an all-inclusive swath of 36 states plus Washington, D.C. -- with the exception of Louisiana -- west of the Rocky Mountain states eastward to the Atlantic seaboard.
Aquilegia canadensis is native to six Great Plains states: Kansas, Nebraska, North Dakota, Oklahoma, South Dakota and Texas.
The New World wildflower claims homelands in nine Midwestern states: Arkansas, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Ohio and Wisconsin.
Aquilegia canadensis is found natively two south central states: Kentucky and Tennessee.
Aquilegia canadensis occurs natively in three Gulf Coast states: Alabama, Florida and Mississippi.
The New World wildflower is native to the nation's capital, Washington, D.C., as well as to nine Mid- to South Atlantic states: Delaware, Georgia, Maryland, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, Virginia and West Virginia.
Aquilegia canadensis occurs natively in six New England states: Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island and Vermont.
In addition to wild columbine, common names in English for Aquilegia canadensis include: Canada, or Canadian, columbine, Eastern red columbine or red columbine.
Multiple stems sprout from woody rootstalks, also known as rhizomes (Ancient Greek ῥίζα, rhíza, “root”).
As a trifoliate plant, wild columbine presents ternate leaves with characteristic leaf shapes divided into three rounded leaflets. Leaves tend to group into noticeable trios on the wildflower’s much-branched stems.
In addition to wild columbine’s distinctive leaves, the New World wildflower produces stunningly unforgettable jeweled flowers. Drooping delicately from the tips of slender branches, flowers open in April in red- and golden-splendor.
Five broad yellow petals extend beyond the flower in blazing redness as elongated, hollow spikes known as spurs. Five lance-shaped red sepals dramatically frame the golden petals and the massive cluster of yellow stamens which dangle in irregular lengths.
Aquilegia canadensis is featured as a prized remedy in the natural medicine cabinets of Native American tribes of North America.
The Cherokee of the southeastern United States prepared an infusion to treat heart problems.
The Iroquois of northeastern United States infused roots for kidney ailments and prepared a wash from the woodland plant as a poison ivy remedy.
The Pawnee of the Great Plains treated headaches and fevers with an infusion of crush wild columbine seeds.
The Plains tribes of Omaha and of Ponca shared Pawnee appreciation of wild columbine seeds as fragrance, incense, and perfume: chewed for personal aroma and crushed for clothing fragrance. Ripe seeds were added to tobacco.
In 1993, the Royal Horticultural Society, founded in London, England, in 1804, recognized Aquilegia canadensis for excellence in gardens via bestowal of the Society's prestigious Award of Garden Merit (AGM).
Wild columbine flowers nod winsomely to breezy melodies in their cozy homestead at the northeastern base of the spreading box elder tree (Acer negundo) that enjoys floral popularity in the north terrace. The shady spot serves as a pleasant greeting at the gravel driveway's southwestern curve.
Wild columbine arrived in my yard via an unseen process of faunal and/or wind dispersal and announced their presence in spring 2014.
Their jeweled showiness contrasts beautifully in a brief overlap with the pastel blue palette of garden hyacinth (Hyacinthus orientalis), their northern neighbors around the exuberant box elder.
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| wild columbine in Eden Valley Refuge, Jackson County, east central Iowa: image by Jennifer Anderson via USDA-NCRS Plants Database |
Acknowledgment
My special thanks to talented artists and photographers/concerned organizations who make their fine images available on the internet.
Image credits:
Image credits:
view of wild columbine's stamens and petals framed by sepals, Pleasant Valley Conservancy Wisconsin State Natural Area #551, Dane County, south central Wisconsin: Joshua Mayer (wackybadger), CC BY SA 2.0, via Flickr @ https://www.flickr.com/photos/wackybadger/5959701191/
wild columbine in Eden Valley Refuge, Jackson County, east central Iowa: image by Jennifer Anderson via USDA-NCRS Plants Database @ http://plants.usda.gov/java/largeImage?imageID=aqca_002_ahp.tif
For further information:
For further information:
Moerman, Daniel E. Native American Medicinal Plants: An Ethnobotanical Dictionary. Portland OR: Timber Press, 2009.
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