Aquilegia canadensis L.
Red columbine, American columbine, Eastern columbine, Canada columbine, meetinghouses, rock bells, honeysuckle, rock lily, cluckies, jack-in-trousers, wild honeysuckle, granny’s bonnets, dancing fairies, wild columbine
Red columbine, one of the prettiest darned flowers I’ve ever seen, is native to North America. The genus Aquilegia means eagle-like, a reference to the talon-like spurs on the back of each flower. Columbines are related to buttercups.
Plants: 1–3′ (30–91 cm) high, with red to green stems. See other columbines.
Leaves: Mostly basal, with a few along the stem, divided into progressively smaller groups of two or three. They are up to 3″ (7.6 cm) long. Leaves may be oval, but wider toward the ends; or rounded, with lobes or teeth.
Flowers: A single flower hangs downward from each stem. The flower has five symmetrical parts, and is about 1¼–2″ (3.2–5 cm) in length. They vary from light pink to deep red in color, with yellow centers, and bloom from April to July. The spurs on the back of each flower are unique in shape. Nectar in the round spur ends attract hummingbirds and butterflies.
Fruits: Five pod-shaped follicles with long beaks split open along one side to release shiny black seeds.
Habitats: Found in dry woods, on forest floors and cliffs.
Edibility: Poisonous. 
The seeds and roots are highly poisonous, and the leaves of many other members of the buttercup
family are poisonous.
Online References:
References:
Clemants, Steven; Gracie, Carol, Wildflowers in the Field and Forest, Oxford University Press, 2006, 90
6/21/2025 · Hawk Mountain, Waterford, Maine · ≈ 14 × 10″ (36 × 24 cm) 
6/4/2017 · Lockes Hill, Gilford, New Hampshire · ≈ 4½ × 7″ (12 × 18 cm) 
5/12/2021 · Weber-Kelly Preserve, Georgetown, Maine · ≈ 4 × 5″ (10 × 13 cm) 
5/11/2010 · Nashua River Rail Trail, Pepperell, Massachusetts · ≈ 4½ × 4″ (12 × 10 cm) 
5/27/2016 · Acton Arboretum, Acton, Massachusetts 
6/2/2009 · Zion National Park, Utah · ≈ 3½ × 4″ (8.7 × 10 cm) 
5/12/2021 · Weber-Kelly Preserve, Georgetown, Maine · ≈ 3½ × 5″ (9 × 13 cm) 
5/12/2021 · Weber-Kelly Preserve, Georgetown, Maine · ≈ 3½ × 3½″ (8.7 × 9.1 cm) 
6/11/2025 · Coastal Maine Botanical Gardens, Boothbay, Maine · ≈ 5 × 3½″ (12 × 9.8 cm) 
5/27/2016 · Acton Arboretum, Acton, Massachusetts 
5/20/2026 · Cutler Botanic Garden, Binghamton, New York · ≈ 3 × 3″ (8.5 × 8.3 cm) 
5/18/2025 · Center Point Preserve, Bowdoinham, Maine 
5/11/2010 · Nashua River Rail Trail, Pepperell, Massachusetts · ≈ 8 × 5″ (19 × 13 cm) 
5/27/2016 · Acton Arboretum, Acton, Massachusetts 
5/23/2016 · Wildflower Trail, Beaver Brook Conservation Area, Hollis, New Hampshire 
6/2/2014 · Big Bear Mountain, Brookline, Massachusetts · ≈ 1 × 5″ (2.6 × 12 cm) 
5/16/2014 · Acton Arboretum, Action, Massachusetts · ≈ 3½ × 3½″ (9.8 × 9.8 cm) 
5/7/2010 · Nashua River Rail Trail, Groton Center, Groton, Massachusetts · ≈ 4 × 3½″ (10 × 9.2 cm) 
6/2/2009 · Zion National Park, Utah · ≈ 1½ × 1¾″ (3.9 × 4.7 cm) 
6/21/2025 · Hawk Mountain, Waterford, Maine · ≈ 7 × 6″ (17 × 15 cm) 
5/9/2012 · Nashua River Rail Trail, Groton Center, Groton, Massachusetts · ≈ 3½ × 4″ (9.2 × 10 cm) 
| Kingdom | Plantae | Plants, but not fungi, lichens, or algae (from Stearn's Botanical Latin) |
| Subkingdom | Tracheobionta | Vascular plants—plants with a “circulatory system” for delivering water and nutrients |
| Division | Magnoliophyta | Flowering plants, also known as angiosperms |
| Class | Magnoliopsida | Dicotyledons—plants with two initial seed leaves |
| Subclass | Magnoliidae | Includes magnolias, nutmeg, bay laurel, cinnamon, avocado, black pepper, and many others |
| Order | Ranunculales | Basal (evolved earlier) eudicots, also called “true dicots” |
| Family | Ranunculaceae | Buttercup family |
| Genus | Aquilegia | From Latin aquila, or “eagle,” for the flower’s resemblence to an eagle’s claw |
| Species | canadensis | “From Canada” |
Aquilegia canadensis description by Thomas H. Kent, not updated.
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