THE LADIES' FLORAL CABINET. 
249 
Aquilegia Jucunda. 
A. Californica (Californian Columbine) is one of the 
strongest and most beautiful of our native species. 
The tendency of this plant is to send up one strong, 
woody stem, which, under favorable circumstances, will 
reach a height of three feet, producing an immense 
number of flowers; the sepals are orange-colored and 
blunt-pointed, being closely pressed to the petals, which 
are also blunt, giving them the appearance of 
having been trimmed with a pair of scissors, which 
gave rise to one of its specific names, truncata. The 
spurs are long, bright orange, and to appreciate the full 
beauty of the flower it must be turned up from its 
naturally pendant position; then the beautiful shell¬ 
like arrangement of the petals, which is a marked 
peculiarity of the flower, becomes at once visible, the 
bright yellow marginal line gradually shading off into 
deep orange. It is a little difficult to keep this plant up 
to its perennial habit, when taken from its native home, 
as it is liable to die off after flowering. Hence the im¬ 
portance of growing young plants from seed annually, 
and here we encounter other difficulties, viz., cross 
fertilization. The tendency to hybridize is so great 
that it is almost impossible to prevent it, if the different 
species are grown in the same or adjacent gardens. 
A. Canadensis (Canadian Columbine). This species 
is indigenous to the Northern States, growing abund' 
antly in dry, rocky uplands. It is a tall, rather graceful 
species, growing about two feet high, with loose panicles 
of flowers. The flowers are large, but not so spreading 
as some, with straight spurs of moderate length, beau¬ 
tiful bright red, shaded with orange in the centres. 
A. Chrysantha (Golden Columbine), a native of the 
Pacific coast, is a tall, vigorous and beautiful species, 
and is more likely to continue its perennial character 
under different conditions of growth, than most of the 
other species. This plant comes into flower nearly a 
month later, and continues to bloom for a much longer 
pei’iod than any other of the family ; these peculiarities, 
added to its full yellow color, makes it a decided acqui¬ 
sition. Like the Rocky Mountain Columbine, it has a 
very long and slender spur, often over two inches in 
length. It ripens its seed freely, by which means it 
is readily propagated. 
A. Ccerulea (Rocky Mountain Columbine), the subject 
