Participant Info

Species

Aquilegia caerulea [Aquilegia coerulea]

Family

Ranunculacea

CommonName

blue columbine

Presence

YES

Status

native

EarliestDate

1885

LatestDate

2019

Ecosystem

montane, subalpine, tundra

Geobotanical

SSawatch, Garitas, SSanjuans, Culebras, NCristos

Counties

Alamosa, Conejos, Costilla, Hinsdale, Mineral, Rio Grande, Saguache, San Juan

Passes

Carnero, Cochetopa, Elwood, Grayback, La Manga, La Veta, Music, South, Spring Creek, Stony, Wolf Creek

WildlifePreserves

Other Localities

PhotoRecords

YES Rich Haswell: Rio Grande Co, Elwood Pass, 2 Sept 2019

Comments

Blue columbine is common in all mountain regions of the Watershed, including around most of the major passes. This columbine especially likes meadows and rock outcrops in the subalpine zone, sometimes in the shelter of Picea. Aquilegia caerulea extends down the Rio Grande drainage only into northern New Mexico, which stands at the south-eastern corner of the flower's USA range. That includes the Rocky Mountains to the Canadian border, and mountain ranges in Nevada, Arizona, and Utah. Note that in the Watershed, plants with pure white inflorescence (sometimes called var. ochrolecua) are not uncommon.

Annotation