Colorado blue columbine Facts for Kids

Quick facts for kids Colorado blue columbine

Aquilegia coerulea (Duval)
Scientific classification
Genus:	Aquilegia
Species:	coerulea

The Colorado blue columbine (scientific name: Aquilegia coerulea) is a beautiful flowering plant. It belongs to the buttercup family, called Ranunculaceae. This plant grows naturally in the Rocky Mountains. You can find it from Montana down to New Mexico, and west to Idaho and Arizona.

Sometimes people call it the "Rocky Mountain columbine." But this name can also mean another plant, Aquilegia saximontana. The Latin word coerulea (or caerulea) means "sky blue." This name fits because of its lovely blue flowers.

What Does the Colorado Blue Columbine Look Like?
- Size and Flowers
- Colorado's State Flower
Different Kinds of Colorado Blue Columbine
Growing Colorado Blue Columbine in Gardens
Gallery
See also

What Does the Colorado Blue Columbine Look Like?

The Colorado blue columbine is a perennial plant. This means it lives for more than two years. It is also a herbaceous plant, so it has soft stems instead of woody ones. You often find it growing high up in the mountains. It likes places between 2,100 and 3,700 meters (about 6,900 to 12,100 feet) above sea level.

Size and Flowers

This plant can grow to be 20 to 60 centimeters (about 8 to 24 inches) tall. Its flowers grow in groups from the top of the plant's stem. The flowers can be many different colors! They might be pale blue, white, light yellow, or even pinkish. Often, the flowers have two colors. For example, the outer parts (sepals) might be a different shade than the inner parts (petals).

Each flower has five petals and five sepals. Inside, there is an ovary and many stamens, usually 50 to 130 of them. Five long spurs hang down from the flower. These spurs hold sweet nectar at their tips. Only certain insects, like hawkmoths, have long enough tongues to reach this nectar. Other insects, such as bumble-bees, solitary bees, and syrphid flies, also help pollinate these flowers.

Colorado's State Flower

The Aquilegia coerulea is very special to the state of Colorado. It is the official state flower of Colorado.

Different Kinds of Colorado Blue Columbine

There are five main types, or varieties, of Aquilegia coerulea:

Aquilegia coerulea var. alpina
Aquilegia coerulea var. coerulea
Aquilegia coerulea var. daileyae
Aquilegia coerulea var. ochroleuca
Aquilegia coerulea var. pinetorum

Growing Colorado Blue Columbine in Gardens

People often grow Aquilegia coerulea as an ornamental plant in their gardens. It is very popular because of its beautiful flowers. This plant has even won an important award called the Royal Horticultural Society's Award of Garden Merit.

Gardeners have also created many different cultivars of this plant. Cultivars are special types of plants that people have chosen for certain features, like different flower colors. Some popular cultivars include 'Origami' and 'Crimson Star'.