Aquilegia pubescens

Sierra columbine

Family: Ranunculaceae · Type: perennial · Native

Sierra columbine is a California native perennial found in the Sierra Nevada Mountains on open, rocky slopes, in subalpine forest, and alpine areas at elevations of 2,600 to 3,650 meters. Flowering from July to August, this plant produces cream to yellow or pink flowers with distinctive spurs 25 to 50 millimeters long, creating an elegant hanging profile. Growing 15 to 50 centimeters tall with spreading to erect flowers, it forms delicate clumps with finely divided leaves. Its basal and lower stem leaves are intricately divided into multiple leaflets, typically 10 to 25 millimeters long, creating a lacy, light green foliage. The flowers feature cream to yellow or pink sepals 10 to 24 millimeters long, with rounded petal mouths that elegantly frame the plant's reproductive structures.

Habitat: Open, generally rocky slopes, scrub, subalpine forest, alpine

Bloom period: Jul-Aug

Elevation: 2600-3650 m

Bioregions: SNH.

California counties: Tulare, Mariposa, Fresno, Mono, Inyo, Tuolumne, Madera, Marin

Data from The California Species Project — 14,000+ California species with verified data from CNPS, CDFW, USFWS, Jepson eFlora, Cal-IPC, and more.