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Home  /  Plants  /  Budburst Species  /  Aquilegia canadensis
Phenology Observation Sheet for Wildflowers and Herbs

COMMON NAME

red columbine

SCIENTIFIC NAME

Aquilegia canadensis

ALSO KNOWN AS

Canadian or Canada columbine, eastern red columbine, wild columbine

Plant family

Buttercup (Ranunculaceae)

Plant group

Wildflowers and Herbs

Red columbine is an herbaceous perennial plant native to eastern North America.
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OBSERVERS
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OBSERVATIONS
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Identification hints

Red columbines have red, tubular flowers that hang downwards with upward pointing claw-like spurs. They typically have leaves divided in threes which each have three lobes. Hummingbirds and bees are important pollinators of this species.
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Did you know?

Red columbine is pollinated by hummingbirds (notice the red, tubular flowers). In northern latitudes, bees are also important pollinators of this species. Seeds of the red columbine have been used for a variety of medicinal purposes, from treating kidney ailments to relieving rashes caused by poison ivy. Various insect larvae including caterpillars feed on the leaves.
DISTRIBUTION IN TH U.S.
Alabama , Arkansas , Connecticut , Delaware , Florida , Georgia , Iowa , Illinois , Indiana , Kansas , Kentucky , Massachusetts , Maryland , Maine , Michigan , Minnesota , Missouri , Mississippi , North Carolina , North Dakota , Nebraska , New Hampshire , New Jersey , New York , Ohio , Oklahoma , Pennsylvania , Rhode Island , South Carolina , South Dakota , Tennessee , Texas , Virginia , Vermont , Wisconsin , West Virginia
HABITAT
Red columbine is found in moist shady areas with well drained soil. The plant is native to eastern and central North America, found as far north as Canada down to northern Florida, and west to Oklahoma and eastern Texas.
ATTRIBUTES
Leaves
Leaves are deep green, divided into three leaflets, which give them the distinctive buttercup appearance. Leaves are smooth on top, and fuzzy underneath.
Flowers
Red columbine has showy and distinct flowers. A single, nodding flower stems from leaf axils. Each flower has five petals, which extend backward into long spurs with a slightly bulbous tip called a nectary where nectar is stored. The reproductive parts of the flower hang downward, and are bright yellow.
Fruits
The seed head of red columbine is a beaked follicle (a seed pod that splits open along one side) just over 1 in (3 cm) in length, which opens to release seeds. Five of the pointed follicles are produced from each flower.
Bloom Time
Red columbine blooms from February to July.

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