XX. A SYNONYMIC CONSPECTUS OF THE 



NATIVE AND GARDEN AQX^ILEGIAS OF 



NORTH AMERICA. 



K. C. Davis. 



The name Aquilegia (Linn. Sp. PL 533, 1753) is probably 

 not from agtii'la, eagle, as commonly given, but from aquilegus^ 

 water-drawer. The name may have been applied from the 

 supposed power of the roots to extract water from rocks, among 

 which they so often grow. They are commonly called Colum- 

 bines. 



Hardy perennial herbs, mostly with paniculate branches ter- 

 minated by showy flowers ; leaves 1-3 times ternately compound, 

 commonly glaucous ; leaflets roundish and obtusely lobed : 

 flowers large, showy, appearing usually in spring or early 

 summer; sepals 5, regular, petaloid ; petals concave, produced 

 backward between the sepals forming a hollow spur; stamens 

 numerous ; fruit of about 5 many-seeded follicles. 



About 30 species are distinct ; all of the north temperate re- 

 gions of the world. Nearly half of these (12) are natives of 

 North America. Most of the native species and varieties are 

 used in American and European gardens, and ten foreign spe- 

 cies have already been introduced here. Aqtiilegia furnishes 

 many useful, ornamental forms eminently fitted for choice mixed 

 borders and beds. A good, dee^, rather sandy, well drained 

 soil is the best. Seeds sown in pans, in cold frames in March, 

 or open air in April, occasionally bloom the first season, but 

 generally the second. The seed germinates slowly, and the 

 ground should be kept moist on top during this period. The 

 different species should, if possible, be kept some distance apart 

 if pure seed is desired, as the most divers species hybridize 

 directly. They may be propagated by root division but better 

 by seed. Absolutely pure seed is hard to obtain except from 

 the plants in the wild state ; and some of the mixed forms are 



