WILD COLUMBINE 



Corolla. — Of five petals, each a slender tube, tapering 

 to a thickened rounded point, forming the upright and 

 nearly straight spurs. 



Stamens. — Many,' yellow-tipped, projecting. 



Pistil. — Five carpels, slender, projecting; forming erect 

 pods when mature; seeds black, smooth, shining. 



Pollinated by bumblebees and humming-birds. Nec- 

 tar-bearing. Stamens mature before the stigmas. 



The Columbine dwells 

 of choice on sunny, rocky 

 slopes in open woods 

 where the soil is sparse 

 and well drained. It of- 

 ten prospers with hardly 

 sufficient earth to cover 

 its roots. The form of 

 the flower is unique and 

 exquisitely beautiful. 

 The petals are lengthened 

 into hollow spurs in shape 

 like trumpets with a drop 

 of nectar in each of the 

 closed ends. The sepals 

 are the petal-like leaves 

 between the trumpets 

 and of the same color. 

 The flowers nod and the 

 stamens protrude like a golden tassel. The pollen of 

 the outer row ripens while the inner row is still unde- 

 veloped, and so these act as a sheath for the stigmas. 

 After ah the stamens have discharged their pollen, the 

 styles awaken from their sleep, lengthen, the feathery 

 stigmas open and, curving, place themselves at the 



67 



Wild Columbine. Aquilegia Canadensis 



