''Aquilegia micrantha'', the Mancos columbine or Bluff City columbine, is a

perennial A perennial plant or simply perennial is a plant that lives more than two years. The term ('' per-'' + '' -ennial'', "through the years") is often used to differentiate a plant from shorter-lived annuals and biennials. The term is also wide ...

species of

plant Plants are predominantly photosynthetic eukaryotes of the kingdom Plantae. Historically, the plant kingdom encompassed all living things that were not animals, and included algae and fungi; however, all current definitions of Plantae exclud ...

in the family

Ranunculaceae Ranunculaceae (buttercup or crowfoot family; Latin "little frog", from "frog") is a family of over 2,000 known species of flowering plants in 43 genera, distributed worldwide. The largest genera are ''Ranunculus'' (600 species), ''Delphinium' ...

, native to

Utah Utah ( , ) is a state in the Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. Utah is a landlocked U.S. state bordered to its east by Colorado, to its northeast by Wyoming, to its north by Idaho, to its south by Arizona, and to it ...

Colorado Colorado (, other variants) is a state in the Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. It encompasses most of the Southern Rocky Mountains, as well as the northeastern portion of the Colorado Plateau and the western edge of t ...

, and

Arizona Arizona ( ; nv, Hoozdo Hahoodzo ; ood, Alĭ ṣonak ) is a state in the Southwestern United States. It is the 6th largest and the 14th most populous of the 50 states. Its capital and largest city is Phoenix. Arizona is part of the Fou ...

Description

The Mancos columbine grows to 30–60cm in height with white, cream, blue, or pink sepals, 8 to 20 mm in length. The blades are white or cream and 6 to 10 mm long. The spurs are white or colored like the sepals, 15 to 30 mm long, and straight with the tips of the spurs curving inward. The stamens extend beyond the blades.

Taxonomy

The specific name ''micrantha'' means "small-flowered", from Greek μικρός "small" + ἄνθος "flower, blossom". The usual common name Mancos columbine is taken from the town of

Mancos, Colorado Mancos is a statutory town in Montezuma County, Colorado, United States. The population was 1,196 at the 2020 census, down from 1,336 in 2010. The town is in southwestern Colorado, at the base of Mesa Verde National Park, and holds the trademar ...

, from where the

type specimen In biology, a type is a particular wiktionary:en:specimen, specimen (or in some cases a group of specimens) of an organism to which the scientific name of that organism is formally attached. In other words, a type is an example that serves to a ...

was sent by Alfred Wetherill (brother of

Richard Wetherill Richard Wetherill (1858–1910), a member of a Colorado ranching family, was an amateur archaeologist who discovered, researched and excavated sites associated with the Ancient Pueblo People. He is credited with the rediscovery of Cliff Palac ...

) to the describer of the species, Alice Eastwood. Wetherill noted in his letter to Eastwood that it was similar enough to '' Aquilegia ecalcarata'' that he at first took it for that species.

Distribution and habitat

''Aquilegia micrantha'' is

endemic Endemism is the state of a species being found in a single defined geographic location, such as an island, state, nation, country or other defined zone; organisms that are indigenous to a place are not endemic to it if they are also found elsew ...

to the

Southwestern United States The Southwestern United States, also known as the American Southwest or simply the Southwest, is a geographic and cultural region of the United States that generally includes Arizona, New Mexico, and adjacent portions of California, Colorado, Ne ...

(southeastern

, southwestern

, and extreme northern

), where it grows in hanging gardens in canyons where alkaline water seeps from the bases of cliffs.

Varieties

Three varieties are accepted. * ''Aquilegia micrantha'' var. ''grahamii'' – Graham's columbine, Utah *''Aquilegia micrantha'' var. ''loriae'' – Lori's columbine, Utah *''Aquilegia micrantha'' var. ''micrantha'' – Utah, Colorado, and northern Arizona

References

External links

* {{Taxonbar, from=Q5600074 micrantha Flora of Utah Flora of Colorado Flora of Arizona Plants described in 1895 Taxa named by Alice Eastwood