AQUILEGIA CANADENSIS /3 GRACILIS. 



Slender Canadian Columbine. 



POLYANDRIA. PeNTAGYNIA. 



Class 13. Order 5. 



Aquilegia or Aquilixa, from Aquila, an eagle; because the necta- 

 ries seem to resemble eagles' claws. The English n;ime Colum- 

 bine is derived from Columha, a pigeon ; from the resemblance 

 which these parts of the wild plant bear both in form and colour 

 to the head and neck of a pigeon. 



Linn. gen. n. 684, Linn. spec. 752, 



GENERIC CHARACTER. 



Cal. none. Cor. Petals five, lanceolate, ovate, flat, spreading, equal. 

 Nectaries five, equal, alternate with the petals ; each horned, 

 gradually broader upwards, with an oblique mouth, ascending out- 

 wardly, annexed inwardly to the receptacle ; produced below into 

 a long attenuated tube with an obtuse top. Stam. Filaments thirty 

 to forty, subulate, the outer ones shorter j anthers oblong, erect, 

 the height of the nectaries. Pisf. Germs five, ovate-oblong, ending 

 in subulate styles longer than the stamens. Stigmas erect, simple. 

 Chaffs ten, wrinkled, short, separate, and involving the germs. 

 Per. Capsules five, distinct, cylindric, parallel, straight, acuminate, 

 one-valved, gaping from the to])s inward. Seeds very many, ovate, 

 keeled, annexed to the gaping suture. 



SPECIFIC CHARACTER. 



Nectaries straight. Stamens longer than the corolla. 



Hoot perennial. Stem slender, erect, of a bright brown, 

 supporting both leaves and flowers towards its summit : these 



