Aquilegia sibirica | |
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Aquilegia sibirica (Siberian columbine) | |
Botanical illustration by Pierre Jean François Turpin | |
Scientific classification | |
Kingdom: | Plantae |
Clade: | Tracheophytes |
Clade: | Angiosperms |
Clade: | Eudicots |
Order: | Ranunculales |
Family: | Ranunculaceae |
Genus: | Aquilegia |
Species: | A. sibirica
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Binomial name | |
Aquilegia sibirica | |
Synonyms[1] | |
List
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Aquilegia sibirica, the Siberian columbine, is a species of flowering plant in the family Ranunculaceae native to the north-central Asian regions of Siberia, northern Mongolia, Kazakhstan, and Xinjiang.[1][2] A hardy perennial plant, it prefers temperate environments.[1] The Siberian columbine can be between 1 foot (0.30 m) and 2 feet (0.61 m) tall with flowers that are lilac-blue and white in color.[3]
A. sibirica diverged as a separate species from Aquilegia ecalcarata–the only Aquilegia species to lack nectar spurs–between 4.5 and 6 million years ago. Crosses between the two species have been studied to determine what gene is responsible for Aquilegia nectar spurs. In Mongolia, A. sibirica is considered a medicinal herb and extracts from the plant have been determined to act as an antifungal agent.