Red Columbine (Aquilegia formosa)

Aquilegia formosa

red columbine

Description:

  • Upright plant with spreading branches

  • Basal and lower stem leaves on petioles are 1 to 12 inches long, divided 2 or 3 times; upper leaves sessile (attached directly by its base without a stalk) or nearly so.

  • Flowers are nodding, bright red, with some yellow; 5 straight to inward-curved spurs with rounded tips

  • Very attractive to hummingbirds and butterflies

  • Closely resembles the eastern red columbine, A. canadensis.

  • Rarity: Common

  • Flowering Time: All Spring And Summer

  • Life Cycle: Perennial

  • Height: 8 to 48 inches

  • Habitat: Coastal, Meadow, West-Side Forest, East-Side Forest, Subalpine, in moist, open to partly shaded areas from coastline to subalpine meadows

  • Found In: Olympic Np, Mt. Rainier Np, N Cascades Np, Crater Lake Np, Wallowas, Steens, West Gorge, Siskiyous

  • Native: Yes

Source: Wildflowers of the Pacific Northwest

Additional resource: Oregon Flora Project