Colorado's State Wildflower
Colorado columbine, Aquilegia coerulea, is the Colorado state flower, and its white petals, blue sepals and blue spurs make it easy to identify.
Columbines come in different color patterns and forms, with two major genes involved. One gene determines whether the petals will be white or blue, and a second gene determines whether spurs will form. Near Rocky Mountain National Park three forms can be found in one locality: the classic form, an all blue flower with spurs, and an all blue flower lacking spurs.
Crested Butte is officially recognized as Colorado's Wildflower Capital, and each summer they host a Wildflower Festival. I always head that way in summer, for it is grand.
I recommend looking at higher resolution.
I had the impression that this was one plant, but I did not do any destructive sampling to test that hypothesis. When I counted the flower buds not yet open and the open blooms, the total was 37,
Colorado's State Wildflower
Colorado columbine, Aquilegia coerulea, is the Colorado state flower, and its white petals, blue sepals and blue spurs make it easy to identify.
Columbines come in different color patterns and forms, with two major genes involved. One gene determines whether the petals will be white or blue, and a second gene determines whether spurs will form. Near Rocky Mountain National Park three forms can be found in one locality: the classic form, an all blue flower with spurs, and an all blue flower lacking spurs.
Crested Butte is officially recognized as Colorado's Wildflower Capital, and each summer they host a Wildflower Festival. I always head that way in summer, for it is grand.
I recommend looking at higher resolution.
I had the impression that this was one plant, but I did not do any destructive sampling to test that hypothesis. When I counted the flower buds not yet open and the open blooms, the total was 37,