340 



AQUILEGIA 



AQUILEGIA 



species can be used to advantage in half-shady positions. 

 The attractive forms and rich variations in hue of 

 aquilegias come out well when associated with hemero- 

 callis, Siberian irises, thalictrums, polygonatums, 

 Spirxa Filipendula and wild ferns. In the North, a 

 similar effect is produced by grouping columbines 

 together with white and blue Lupinus polyphyllus, 

 Campanula persitifolia, Iris germanica and /. pallida yar. 

 dalmatica, Iceland poppies and trollius. For rockeries, 

 the low-growing early alpine species, such as A . alpina, A . 

 Stuartii and A.flabellata are well adapted. Throughout 

 the middle and northern states, columbines need winter 

 protection, dry leaves being preferable for covering. 



Seeds sown in pans, in coldframes in March, or open 

 air in April, occasionally bloom the first season, but 

 generally the second. The different species should 

 be some distance apart, if possible, if pure seed is 

 desired, as the most diverse species hybridize 

 directly. They may be propagated by division of 

 the roots in late fall, winter or early spring, but 

 the better way is by seeds. Absolutely pure seed 

 is hard to obtain except from the plants in the 

 wild state; and some of the mixed forms are quite 

 inferior to the true species from which they have 

 come. A. cserulea, A. glandulosa, and A. vidgaris 

 are likely to flower only two or three years, and should 

 be treated as biennials; but A. vulgaris may be kept 

 active for a longer period by transplanting. 



A light sandy soil, moist, with good drainage, shel- 

 tered, but exposed to sun, is what aquilegias prefer. Some 

 of the stronger species, when of nearly full flowering size, 

 may be transplanted into heavier garden soil, even 

 heavy clay, and made to succeed ; but for the rearing of 

 young seedlings, a light, sandy loam is essential. The 

 seed of most columbines is rather slow in germinating, 

 and it is necessary to keep the soil moist on top of the 

 ground until the young plants are up. A coldframe, 

 with medium heavy cotton covering, is a good place to 

 grow the plants. The cotton retains sufficient moisture 

 to keep the soil moist on top, and still admits sufficient 

 circulation of air to prevent damping-off of the young 

 seedlings. When large enough, the seedlings may be 

 pricked out into another frame for a time, or, by shad- 

 ing for a few days until they get a start, they may be 

 set into the permanent border, or wherever they are to 

 be placed. (F. H. Hereford.) 



A. Sepals not mare than % or %in. long: expanded fls. 



1 or 1% in. diam. 



B. Limb of petal shorter than the sepal. 

 1. Jdnesii, Parry. Truest, very short or almost want- 

 ing, soft-pubescent: tufted root-lvs. 1-2 in. high from 

 the stout, ascending branches of therootstock, biternately 

 divided; partial-petioles very short or none; Ifts. very 

 crowded: fls. blue; sepals oblong-obtuse, equaling the 

 spurs, and twice the length of the petal-limbs and 

 head of stamens: follicles glabrous, large, nearly 1 

 in. long; styles half as long; peduncles lengthening to 

 about 3 in. in fr. July. Wyoming and Montana. G.F. 

 9:365. 



2. oxysepala, Traut. & Mey. Plant 2% ft., slightly 

 pubescent above: radical Ivs. long-petioled, secondary 

 divisions sessile: sepals blue, ovate-lanceolate, much 

 exceeding in length the petal-limbs, which are 6 lines 

 long, white, rounded-truncate; stamens not protruding 

 beyond the petal-limb; spur knobbed, bent inward, 

 shorter than petal-limb: follicles pubescent, with styles 

 their own length. June. Siberia. Said to be one of 

 the first to bloom, and one of the most attractive 

 in the list. It is one of the most dwarfed; fls. large 

 blue, yellow and white; it comes so much before the 

 others that its pistils, as a rule, all fertilize before any 

 of the other species come into flower." Only recently 

 intro. to cult. 



3. lactifldra, Kar. & Kir. St. !)/ ft. high, glabrous 



in the lower part: 

 part ial - pet ioles of 

 root-lvs. 133-2 in. 

 long; Ifts. sessile or 

 short-stalked, 1 in. 

 long, many lobes 

 reaching half way 

 down; st.-lvs. pet- 

 ioled and co m- 

 pound: fls. about 

 3 to a St.; sepals 

 nearly white or 

 tinged with blue, 

 over yim.. long, nar- 

 row; petal-limb half 

 as long as sepal; 

 spur J-iin., slender, 

 nearly straight, not 

 knobbed at tip; 

 stamens equal in 

 length to the limb. 

 June. Altai Mts., 

 Siberia. A desir- 

 able species, but not 

 much planted. 



BB. Limb of petal 

 about equal to 

 sepal. 



4. viridifldra, 



Pallas. St. 1-1 H ft. 

 high, finely pubes- 

 cent throughout , 

 several - fld. : the 

 part ial -pet ioles of 

 root-lvs. 1-2 in. long; Ifts. sessile or the end one shortly 

 stalked, lobes rather narrow and deep; lower st.-lvs. 

 petioled, biternate: sepals oblong, obtuse, ascending, 

 greenish, equaling the broad, greenish petal-limb, but 

 not reaching the head of stamens; spur straight, slender, 

 J3in. long, not knobbed: pubescent follicles as short as 

 their styles. Summer. E. Siberia. Not so much used 

 as the following variety: 



Var. atropurpilrea, Vilm. (A. atropurpurea, Willd.). 

 Limbs of the petals deep blue or lilac-purple, and the 

 sepals and spur somewhat tinged with the same hue. 

 B.R. 922. 



5. canadensis, Linn. COMMON COLUMBINE of Amer. 

 Figs. 292, 293. Height 1-2 ft. : primary divisions of 

 petioles of root-lvs. 1-2 in., having 3 divisions; 2 or 3 

 of the st.-lvs. petioled, biternate: fls. several to a st.; 

 sepals yellowish or tinted on the back with red, about 

 J-3in. long, not reflexing; limb of petals a little shorter, 

 yellowish, truncate; spur %m. long, nearly straight, 

 knobbed at the end, bright red throughout; stamens 

 much protruding: follicles %in. long, with styles half 

 as long. May-July. Stony banks, east of Rocky 

 Mountains. Introduced 1890. B.M. 246. L.B.C. 9: 

 888. Mn. 5:21. R.H. 1896, p. 109. F.W. 1878:33 

 There are some beautiful hvbrids of this and the blue 





292 Aquilegia canadensis. 



