Aquilegia vulgaris
L. ColumbineErect herb to c. 1 m high. Basal leaves biternate or triternate; petioles usually sparsely pilose, to c. 40 cm long; leaflets cuneate to broadly ovate, 2.5–5 cm long, margins crenate to lobed, glabrous above, pilose and glaucous below; cauline leaves usually less divided. Flowers nodding, usually blue to violet; sepals ovate, 20–30 mm long; petals 20–38 mm long (including the 15–22 mm spur); stamens subequal to or shortly exserted beyond limb of petals; staminodes membranous, subpetaloid, slightly shorter than stamens. Follicles glandular-pubescent, c. 20–30 mm long; style persistent, to c. 8 mm long. Flowers Nov.–Jan.
GipP, CVU, EGU, HSF, VAlp. Native to Europe. Naturalised in the Bogong Village-Falls Creek, Mount Buller and Dandenong Ranges area where escaped from nearby gardens and penetrating into moist, shaded sites within woodland and tall open-forest. A 1961 collection from Boundary Creek near the Snowy River (Gelantipy area) is at MEL, but no subsequent records from this area are known.
Walsh, N.G. (1996). Ranunculaceae. In: Walsh, N.G.; Entwisle, T.J., Flora of Victoria Vol. 3, Dicotyledons Winteraceae to Myrtaceae, pp. 35–63. Inkata Press, Melbourne.
Spinning
