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Aquilegia coerulea, June 27, 2022

A. coerulea, Top Cut 12,100’ July 14, 2022

Seed pod, Portal campground area, 10,600’, July 29, 2022

Common & scientific name
Colorado columbine, Aquilegia coerulea

Family
Buttercup, Ranunculaceae

Location
Ghost town, 10,800’

Fun, weird, helpful, or little known fact
Our beloved state flower, equally at home in aspen groves and on rocky tundra, manifesting all kinds of color combinations, hybridizing with all other species of Aquilegia, occasionally with spurless variants: how lucky we are to call this endlessly interesting flower our own!

A. coerulea, Top Cut, 12,100’, July 14, 2022

A. coerulea, above Linkins Lake, 12,800’, August 5, 2022