Alpine columbine

Aquilegia alpina, the alpine columbine, is a clump-forming herbaceous perennial of the family Ranunculaceae, native to the European Alps and the Apennines, where it grows in subalpine and alpine meadows, scrub and rocky slopes between roughly 1500 and 2600 m elevation. The plant typically reaches 30–80 cm in height, with slender, branching stems arising from a stout woody rootstock. The basal leaves are long-petiolate and biternately compound, the leaflets glaucous beneath, three-lobed and crenately toothed. Stem leaves are smaller and progressively more reduced. The large nodding flowers, 5–8 cm across, are an intense blue-violet and consist of five petaloid sepals and five tubular petals; each petal is prolonged backwards into a stout, only slightly curved spur 15–25 mm long. Numerous yellow stamens project from the centre. Flowering occurs from June to August, after which erect, many-seeded follicles develop. The species is widely cultivated as an ornamental garden plant.