Aquilegia oxysepala - Oriental Columbine Seeds - Exotic Rare Perennial Cut Flowers

Aquilegia oxysepala Seeds

Dark Columbine

The genus Aquilegia belongs to the Ranunculaceae family, and contains around 70 species found over much of the temperate and subarctic Northern Hemisphere. This is an adaptable genus, with species and varieties suitable for a range of situations including woodlands, rockeries, and perennial borders, and they are well known for their dainty long-spurred flowers, which are borne in clusters atop wiry stems. The genus name is derived from the Latin aquila, meaning eagle, and lego, meaning to gather suggesting that the spurs situated at the base of the flower resemble the closing talons of an eagle. Aquilegia species are clump-forming perennials with fine-stemmed, often blue-green foliage that emerges from a woody rootstock. The leaves are divided into small fan-shaped leaflets, often resembling maidenhair-fern fronds in shape, if not in size.

Aquilegia oxysepala commonly known as Oriental Columbine is native to parts of northern Asia and Europe. It thrives in dry, sunny spots in open forests or on rocky slopes. Due to decreasing natural habitat and over-picking, this species has become threatened in some areas; it can be found on the Red List of endangered plants in Switzerland. Columbine makes a lovely cut flower. Choose blossoms that have just opened for the longest vase life.