Aquilegia desolaticola

Aquilegia desolaticola
Specimen collected in 2008
Conservation status
Imperiled  (NatureServe)
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Plantae
Clade:	Tracheophytes
Clade:	Angiosperms
Clade:	Eudicots
Order:	Ranunculales
Family:	Ranunculaceae
Genus:	Aquilegia
Species:	A. desolaticola
Binomial name
Aquilegia desolaticola S.L.Welsh & N.D.Atwood

Aquilegia desolaticola, the desolation columbine or Desolation Canyon columbine, is a perennial species of flowering plant in the family Ranunculaceae, endemic to Utah.

Description

Aquilegia desolaticola grows to 40–60cm in height, with smooth or downy stems forming large clumps. The basal leaves are 15–35 cm (5.9–13.8 in) long, smooth, and biternate. The plant produces one or more nodding golden-yellow flowers which may have a bluish or pinkish tinge and measure 7–10 mm (0.28–0.39 in) in length, with the stamens protruding by another 7–12 mm (0.28–0.47 in). The flower spurs are yellow and measure 2.5–3.5 cm (0.98–1.38 in).

Taxonomy

Although closely resembling the golden columbine Aquilegia chrysantha, this species is probably most closely related to Aquilegia barnebyi. It is part of a clade containing all the North American species of columbines that likely split from their closest relatives in East Asia in the mid-Pliocene, approximately 3.84 million years ago.

Etymology

The specific epithet desolaticola is taken from from the plant's habitat, Desolation Canyon.

Distribution and habitat

Aquilegia desolaticola is endemic to Utah and only known from the remote Desolation Canyon on the Green River. It inhabits seeps and adjacent most sandy soils in the Peace River Formation at altitudes of 1,300–1,350 m (4,270–4,430 ft).

Conservation

As of November 2024, NatureServe listed Aquilegia desolaticola as Imperiled (G2). This status was last reviewed on 18 April 2019. NatureServe notes that its habitat is isolated from people and livestock, limiting the threat to the species.