About Aquilegia formosa Fisch. ex DC.
Aquilegia formosa, also known as crimson columbine, is a perennial herb that reaches 20–80 cm in height, with an average height of around 60 cm. It blooms from April to August, though this timing varies slightly across regions. Its flowers are approximately 5 cm long, and are colored red and yellow overall. The sepals and petal spurs are typically reddish-orange, colored by the anthocyanin pigments pelargonidin and cyanidin, plus carotenoids. The yellow petal blades get their color from carotenoids. Hummingbirds are the primary pollinators of this species, though bees, butterflies, and flies also visit its flowers. Even though this species has multiple floral adaptations suited for hummingbird pollination, it forms hybrid zones with Aquilegia pubescens (a species primarily pollinated by hawk moths) at elevations of roughly 9,000 to 10,000 feet in the eastern drainages of California’s central Sierra Nevada mountains. The flowers of Aquilegia formosa are edible and have a sweet flavor, but eating its seeds can be fatal, and most parts of the plant contain cyanogenic glycosides. Within its native range, crimson columbine grows in most habitat types, including chaparral, oak woodland, mixed-evergreen forest, and coniferous forest. It does not grow on desert floors, at altitudes above 3300 metres, or in California’s Central Valley. It prefers moist sites such as stream banks. Some Plateau Indian tribes used Aquilegia formosa to make perfume, and multiple Native American tribes also use it for medicinal purposes.
