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Aquilegia vulgaris
Also called European Columbine, Capon's Feather, European Crowfoot, Granny Bonnets, Granny's Bonnet, Garden Columbine, Common Columbine
Common columbine is a clump-forming perennial with blue or purple nodding flowers that have distinctive spurs, widely grown in gardens across temperate regions. It does best in cool, well-drained soil with some shade in hot climates.
Aquilegia vulgaris is a species of perennial flowering plant of the genus Aquilegia (columbine) in the family Ranunculaceae. Commonly called the common columbine, European crowfoot, and granny's bonnet, it presently possesses the most expansive range and greatest morphological variability in its genus. The current wild range of A. vulgaris includes its native range in Europe as well as introduced populations in Asia, Oceania, North America (where it has become naturalized), and South America.
The wild form of A. vulgaris grow flowering stems that can reach 90 cm (35 in) tall and often form a bushy clump at its base. In its native range, the species blooms from May to June. The flowers, with diameters measuring up to 60 mm (2.4 in) across, are typically blue or purple and possess petals with structures known as nectar spurs.
Archaeobotanical evidence suggests that Aquilegia vulgaris was cultivated for ornamental purposes in 3rd-century AD Roman Britain. The discoveries of singular A. vulgaris seeds in burnt waste pits at Alcester and Leicester have been interpreted as evidence of their planting in gardens. Finds of columbines at a late Saxon site near Winchester Cathedral and three later medieval German sites have also been interpreted as using the plant for gardening. In 12th-century Italy, people may have supported A. vulgaris or Aquilegia atrata populations near religious structures, possibly due to the contemporary treatment of columbines as Christian symbols.
By the 16th century, selectively bred horticultural A. vulgaris were being recorded in Europe. Linnaeus made mention of some horticultural A. vulgaris when describing the species in 1753 in what was a rare inclusion of cultivated plants within his work. Presently, A. vulgaris is a frequently cultivated garden plant, though the wild form of the species is rare in such settings.
Aquilegia with cyanophores (cells that produce a blue colour), including A. vulgaris, have been observed to contain the cyanogenic glycoside compounds dhurrin and triglochinin. Cyanogenic glycosides generally taste bitter and can be toxic to animals and humans. Ingestion of 20 g (0.71 oz) of fresh A. vulgaris leaves by a human was observed as causing convulsions, respiratory distress, and heart failure. A child who consumed 12 A. vulgaris flowers experienced weakness of the limbs, cyanosis, drowsiness, and miosis; all symptoms abated after three hours.
The Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew's Useful Plants and Fungi of Colombia project has identified A. vulgaris as poisonous. An acute toxicity test in mice showed that ethanol extract and the main flavonoid compound isocytisoside from the leaves and stems of the species can be classified as nontoxic since a dose of 3000 mg/kg did not cause mortality in mice. Nicholas Culpeper recommended the seeds taken in wine to speed the process of childbirth. In modern herbal medicine it is used as an astringent and diuretic.
Aphids are known to attack columbines. This is particularly the case for A. vulgaris and hybrids closely related to it. Aphid infestations can result in stunted growth, sticky honeydew accumulations on the basal leaves, and flowers that are deformed or fail to open.
Aquilegia alpina · Aquilegia bertolonii · Red columbine · Golden columbine · Colorado blue columbine · Fan columbine · Western columbine · Oriental Columbine · Columbine
Text excerpted from the Wikipedia article Aquilegia vulgaris 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.
