Wild columbine

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Wild columbine

Wild columbine leaves

Wild columbine leaf

Wild columbine

Wild Columbine flower

Wild columbine habit

Wild columbine flower

Wild columbine flower

Wild columbine

Wild columbine leaf

Morphology

Stem

Erect, branching, hollow, cylindrical, glabrous to slightly hairy on upper portion.

Leaves

Alternate and basal, pinnately 3-compound, on slender stalks; basal leaves in 3's; leaflets each 3-parted, ultimate segments triangular or wedge-shaped, shallowly or deeply lobed, glabrous to finely hairy, especially beneath; stem leaves similar, gradually reduced, on shorter stalks.

Inflorescence

Solitary flower, terminal on branches.

Flower

Nodding, showy, 1 to 2 inches long from tips of stamens to ends of petal spurs, .6 to 1.75 inch wide; sepals 5, petal-like, dull rose or reddish, .25 to .75 inch long; petals 5, rose or purplish-red basally, yellowish above and inside, .4 to 1.4 inch long, alternating with sepals, lower portion prolonged upward into narrow, hollow spur, spur tip slightly enlarged; stamens numerous, conspicuously extending beyond corolla.

Fruit

Pods, 5, erect, .6 to 1.2 inch long, each bearing a beak .1 to .4 inch long.

Ecology

Habitat

Rocky woods and on steep wooded slopes, often on limestone ledges and bluffs; moist soils.

Distribution

East 1/3 of Kansas.

Practical Information

Uses

Native American men would crush the seeds and rub them on their hands before going courting. They would shake hands with the young lady they were interested in, with the hope that this would increase their chances of a favorable response. The crushed seeds were also used as a perfume and taken as an infusion for headaches and fever.

Additional Notes