Aquilegia canadensis (columbine)
columbine (quart)
Eastern red columbine, also known as Canadian columbine, is a woodland wildflower that is well known for its showy spurred flowers in spring. It grows to about 3' tall and likes part sun to shade. Red and yellow bell-shaped blossoms bloom in May. This plant can tolerate some dry conditions. Columbine are susceptible to leaf miners but attract butterflies and hummingbirds. Good for woodland gardens, borders, and naturalized areas. A good, early flower for pollinators. Foliage is toxic, so deer avoid it.
Columbine is native to North America east of the Rockies. Its native habitat is partly shaded to shaded woodland areas with soils that are not too rich. Columbine's distinctive backward-pointing spurs contain nectar that attracts long-tongued insects and hummingbirds especially adapted for reaching the sweet secretion. Finches and buntings eat the seeds. It is a larval host to the columbine duskywing.
Photo by Kathy Thornton
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