Red Columbine (Aquilegia formosa) Buttercup Family (Ranunculaceae)

This plant is a perennial herb that grows to around 3 feet tall. It grows in a variety of habitats—moist, open to partly shaded sites; meadows, rocky slopes and beaches, forest glades, clearings, roadsides; common from the lowlands to the timberline. At the arboretum, you can see it under the oaks around the visitor’s center, the wildflower garden and along the riverbank trail.

Flower

This is a unique flower. This flower is nodding with red petal spurs spreading from 3/4” to 1 1/4”. The petals are red and yellow with 5, long, straight, red spurs with bulbous, glandular tips. They have a central tuft of stamens and styles protruding. The stamens and short, cup-like end of the petal are yellow. I see bumblebees and hummingbirds visiting these flowers. The hummingbird with its long beak can easily reach the nectar. Bees will nip the bulbous spur-tip to get to the nectar.

Leaves

The leaves are mainly basal on tall leaf stalks. They are compound with 9 round-lobed leaflets. The blades are hairless to hairy. They are green above, and the underside is a beautiful, pale blue-green.

Seeds

The flower is nodding and when the seed pods form, they stand erect. They are covered with small hairs making them a little fuzzy. The top of pods narrow, curve slightly outward and terminate in a long slender strand. The seed pods dry a papery, light brown. Each pod will split open at maturity along the inside edge. There are numerous seeds inside that are fairly small, black, and slightly wrinkled.

Quick Reference:

Height: 3 feet.
Leaves: Mainly basal, twice divided in 3s.
Flowers: Petals are red and yellow with 5, long, straight, red spurs with bulbous, glandular tips. Red spreading sepals.
Habitat: Tolerate a variety of habitats from lush subalpine meadows to lower clearings.

Journal Location:
Mt. Pisgah Arboretum, Eugene, OR
Mt. Pisgah Arboretum Website
Mt. Pisgah Arboretum Plant List

References

Mathews, Daniel. Cascade-Olympic Natural History. Raven Editions in conjunction with Portland Audubon Society, 1988.
Pojar, Jim, and Andy MacKinnon. Plants of the Pacific Northwest Coast: Washington, Oregon, British Columbia and Alaska (Revised). B.C. Ministry of Forests and Lone Pine Publishing, 1994.