Plant of the Week
Jones Columbine
Latin: Aquilegia jonesii
As the rest of our group of would be mountaineers looked at the Grinnell Glacier
2,000 feet below our feet, I was checking out the plant life on the narrow ridge
of the continental divide in Glacier National Park. That's where I finally
spotted it. The "it" was Jones columbine, a tiny cluster of blue-gray
leaves about the size of a baby's fist.
Jones columbine (Aquilegia jonesii) is a plant of tremendous appeal amongst
rock gardeners. I have read of it for years, and every year I request seeds
from the rock garden seed exchange, but it's so highly prized and the
seed is in such short supply, I've never received any. The excitement
I felt on finding such a small, insignificant plant at 7,700 feet on a mountain
pass in Montana is hard to explain.
Jones columbine is a high-altitude columbine confined to the gravely soils
of the northern Rockies. In bloom, it produces a typical blue and white columbine
flower with inch-long spurs. But each plant only produces a couple flowers on
scapes that are held an inch or two above the small leaves. In flower, the plant
would fit comfortably under the average-sized upturned coffee cup.
Discovery of the little plant gem was because our guide took us off-trail
for a better view of the glacier. We worked our way across the steep face of
the mountain on a loose talus slope of fractured rocks following a path the
mountain goats favored. The official trail head was 200 feet lower down and
devoid of the little columbine, but they were fairly numerous at the slightly
higher overlook. The plants had flowered in July, and only the characteristic
seed pods identified them as columbines.
The Grinnell Glacier should also share space with the little columbine for
it's named after George Grinnell, the man largely responsible for establishing
Glacier National Park. Grinnell first saw the glaciers in 1891 while writing
an article for his sporting magazine Forest and Stream (now called Field and
Stream) about the plight of the Blackfoot Indians of the area.
Grinnell spent his own money to finance a survey of the area and establish
the boundaries of the million acre park. He was considered a mentor of the most
famous of all environmentally conscious presidents, Teddy Roosevelt. In 1910,
with the sponsorship of Montana congressman Charles Pray, Grinnell saw the area
set aside as a National Park. In 1932, the Canadian government added another
million acres of the Waterton Park, creating the International Peace Park.
Like all of the glaciers in the park, it's receding. Since 1850, it
has lost 60 percent of its area. Park officials estimate that all of the glaciers
could disappear by 2030 if they continue to shrink at their current rate.
Columbines are widely distributed plants in mountainous regions of the northern
hemisphere. They do best in sunny, moist, but well drained sites. Most do best
in calcareous soils. All, even the elusive Jones columbine, tend to be short
lived and persist for two or three years before dying. But, if they find the
site to their liking, columbines will reseed and establish a colony.
I know in my heart of hearts that Jones columbine is probably not going to
like the heat and humidity of Arkansas. But, maybe this will be the year when
I win the lottery and get a few seeds from the Rock Garden society. After all,
gardeners are always optimistic.
By: Gerald Klingaman, retired
Extension Horticulturist
- Ornamentals
Extension News -
September 9, 2005
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