Flowers of the Aquilegia genus (AquiCredit: SA Hodges, MA Hodges, D Inouye)
One of my favorite spring flowers suffers unjustly from a tainted name. When visitors to my garden see the beautiful dark colors and delicate fairy shapes of this plant and ask its name, I am always loathe to say “columbine” because people then want to talk about the infamous high school shooting which took place in Colorado in 1999 at Columbine High School (columbines grow naturally in Colorado and are the state flower there). Indeed when I googled the name of the flower to search for pretty floral pictures I got all sorts of insane teen gunmen, digital tributes to victims, and soppy made-for-tv movies. This is a shame, since columbines are not just lovely, but hardy (all the way to the frigid depths of Zone 3) and easy to grow. Columbines are flowers of the genus Aquilegia which grow throughout the northern hemisphere. They hybridize prolifically, so it is hard to pin down the exact wild species. In addition to their hardiness they easily germinate from seeds.
Columbines (Aquilegias)
The flower’s common and scientific names are also weirdly at odds. Aquilegia is the Latin name for eagle. The flowers received this fearsome name because the long flower spurs were thought to resemble eagle’s claws. Columbine is Latin for dove—since it was thought the inverted flower looked like five doves nestled together. It is strange that gardeners use a (tainted) Latin name at the expense of a different yet equally euphonic Latin name. I think we should henceforth call columbines aquilegias and put the columbine name behind us. Indeed, forgetting the Columbine massacre itself might be for the best, since greater media attention may lead to copycat attacks. [I realize that I am now guilty of writing about Columbine too–so I earnestly entreat any teenagers who are somehow reading this blog post about flowers not to shoot up their high schools. Stay in school, kids, and grow up to write eclectic blogs about winsome spring flowers: that’ll really teach the bullies!]
With their elongated petal spurs and delicate shades of pink, blue, purple, and yellow, aquilegias are extremely pretty. Yet their prettiness belies their poisonous nature. Like many shade plants, aquilegias have poisonous seeds and roots. Indeed they are related to the infamous aconitums—which are also a part of the treacherous buttercup family. Hopefully other gardeners will follow my lead in calling columbines aquilegias—but more importantly, you should follow good example by growing them—they are really magical.
Plus hummingbirds (amazing photo by Ken Helal)
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8 comments
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April 26, 2014 at 12:47 AM
monarda
II had heard the name “doves around a dish” but I did not know that Aquilegia’s name referred to a supposed resemblance to an eagle’s claw. At any rate only the short spurred European varieties look like doves. The American ones have beautiful long spurs –more like swans or cranes.
The name columbine will never be tainted for me, in fact, I hate to say it, but I think we should put the massacre behind us, not the town’s name. I am sure the town was named after a variety beautiful blue and white variety that grows wild at high altitudes in the Rocky Mountains and is the state flower of Colorado, like the one in your first picture. On the other hand, it is always a good a idea to refer to plants by their Latin binomial: it is Aquilegia caerulea.
April 26, 2014 at 12:53 AM
monarda
I meant to add — it is a member of the ranunculus family (which includes aconite).
April 26, 2014 at 6:31 AM
Tutu Dutta Yean
The name Columbine does not remind me of any high school massacre at all; on the contrary the first thing that came to my mind is the French pantomime character called Columbine. Pierrot fell in love with the beautiful Columbine but she broke his heart by deserting him for Harlequin.
April 26, 2014 at 10:09 AM
Harold
Columbina (little dove) is the clever, witty, and flirtatious soubrette of the Commedia dell’Arte. A perfect name for the delicate flower than dances lightly on its slender stem.
May 9, 2014 at 4:45 PM
Wayne
Thanks for evoking the lost 18th century theater: I think I like columbines even more now!
April 28, 2014 at 8:37 PM
quinn
No matter what we call it, this has been one of my favorite wildflowers since I first discovered them as a very young child, while playing in the nearby fringe of woods and fields. Such magical gems! Yesterday I photographed raindrops on the new leaves, just starting to grow. The flowers will not be far behind!
May 9, 2014 at 4:43 PM
Wayne
I can’t wait for mine to bloom! I wonder if it is the original I planted years ago or if it’s a descendant which grew from a seed…
April 30, 2014 at 2:10 PM
Jasmin
For me, it is a shame that I do think of that massacre when I hear the word “columbine.” But, yes, I should get it out of my head because these flowers are just so exquisite and just so pretty! Flowers really are magic. Do columbines close up at night?