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Aquilegia alpina, the alpine columbine, is a perennial from the western and central Alps, grown for its blue to blue-purple nodding flowers. Most plants sold under this name are hybrids, so buy from a reputable source if you want the true species.
Aquilegia alpina, often called the alpine columbine or breath of God, is a perennial species of flowering plant in the family Ranunculaceae, native to the western and central Alps. Though rare in its Swiss, Austrian, and Italian range, it is commonly found in the French Maritime Alps. A. alpina is appreciated for its light blue to blue-purple flowers.
The species has been in cultivation for several centuries, but plants sold as A. alpina are often hybrids with other Aquilegia species or different columbine species entirely. True A. alpina plants possess straight or slightly curved nectar spurs, distinguishing it from other species and hybrids with hooked spurs. At 21.5 mm (0.85 in) long, these spurs are the longest of any Eurasian member of the genus Aquilegia.
Aquilegia alpina has a long history of cultivation and was a common offering by 1946. Most plants sold as A alpina are instead crosses between multiple Aquilegia species, a phenomenon common across the genus and the result of hundreds of years of cultivation. By 1946, Munz said that supposed "A. alpina" plants were generally hybridizations incorporating Aquilegia vulgaris; this lineage is discernible in the hooked nectar spurs typical of these plants. Other plants labeled A. alpina were instead Aquilegia bertolonii. Nold noted that Munz's observations remained true in 2003.
The species is native to subalpine regions of France, Switzerland, Austria, and Italy, at altitudes from 1,300–1,900 m (4,300–6,200 ft), typically in rocky areas and stony pastures with carbonate bedrock. In the subalpine meadows of southwestern Switzerland, Austria, and northwestern Italy, the plant is rare. However, it is present with greater commonality in the Maritime Alps of France.
Aquilegia bertolonii · Red columbine · Golden columbine · Colorado blue columbine · Fan columbine · Western columbine · Oriental Columbine · Columbine · Columbine
Text excerpted from the Wikipedia article Aquilegia alpina by its contributors, under CC BY-SA 4.0; the excerpts and the care summary drawn from them are shared under the same licence.
The care summary was written by AI (Claude, Anthropic) from the sources on this page, with general growing knowledge where they are silent. Check before relying on it.
Life form, climate and native range: World Checklist of Vascular Plants, Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew (CC BY 3.0), reformatted; see Plants of the World Online.
