Aquilegia sibirica | |
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Aquilegia sibirica (Siberian columbine) | |
Scientific classification | |
Kingdom: | Plantae |
Clade: | Tracheophytes |
Clade: | Angiosperms |
Clade: | Eudicots |
Order: | Ranunculales |
Family: | Ranunculaceae |
Genus: | Aquilegia |
Species: | A. sibirica
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Binomial name | |
Aquilegia sibirica (Lamarck, 1783)
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Aquilegia sibirica, commonly known as the Siberian columbine, is a species of flowering plant in the genus Aquilegia native to the north-central Asian regions of Siberia, northern Mongolia, Kazakhstan, and Xinjiang.[1] A hardy perennial plant, it prefers temperate environments.[2] The Siberian columbine can be between one and two feet tall with flowers that are lilac-blue and white in color.[3]
The Siberian columbine was first described with the binomial Aquilegia sibirica in 1783 within Jean-Baptiste Lamarck's botanical volume for Encyclopédie Méthodique.[4] The plant had been previously described as Aquilegia vulgaris var. sibirica in 1767 within the 12th edition of Systema Naturae.[5]
The plant has nearly glabrous bi- and triternate leaves with leaflets that run between one and two inches across.[3] Stems are leafless, with many terminating in flowers.[6] Siberian columbine flowers are lilac-blue to white. The plant may be between one and two feet in height.[3] The plant's appearance is very proximate to that of Aquilegia flabellata.[7] The plant prefers temperate environments. Like other Aquilegia, Aquilegia sibirica is a hardy perennial plant.[2][7]
Also in common with other Aquilegia, the Siberian columbine possesses nectar spurs. Crosses between Aquilegia sibirica and Aquilegia ecalcarata–the only Aquilegia species that lacks spurred pedals–have been studied to identify the gene responsible for spurred pedals.[8]
Considered a medicinal herb in Mongolia, extracts from Aquilegia sibirica have been researched for and found to possess antifungal qualities.[9]
Aquilegia sibirica is native to the north-central Asian regions of Siberia, northern Mongolia, Kazakhstan, and Xinjiang.[2] Evidence for a continuous Euro-Siberian vegetation is found in the distribution of the Siberian columbine considered alongside that of the Aquilegia vulgaris.[10] The population in Middle Siberia is considered a quaternary relict.[11]
The flower was introduced to the United States by the United States Department of Agriculture in 1933.[3] Finnish research has suggested that Aquilegia sibirica is among the Siberian and Far Eastern plants that could prove valuable for northern landscaping.[12]