- Source: Aquilegia aurea
Aquilegia aurea is a perennial flowering plant in the family Ranunculaceae native to Bulgaria and small areas of North Macedonia and Greece.
Description
Aquilegia aurea grows to 10–100 cm (3.9–39.4 in) with smooth or lightly hairy stems and large, nodding, light yellow or greenish-yellow flowers with a hooked nectar spur and protruding stamens. It forms a large underground mass to maintain stability among the loose rocks and scree of its environment.
Taxonomy
Aquilegia aurea belongs to a clade containing most of the European columbine species, which appear to have diverged from their closest relatives in Asia in the early Pleistocene, a little over 2 million years ago.
= Etymology
=The specific epithet aurea means "golden" in Latin, referring to the colour of the flowers.
Distribution and habitat
Aquilegia aurea is native to mountainous regions of western and southwestern Bulgaria, in Vitosha, Rila, Pirin and the western Rhodope Mountains, as well as the Belasica mountains (also known as Kerkini in Greece) in southeastern North Macedonia and northeastern Greece. It grows in rocky alpine meadows at altitudes of 1,800–2,300 m (5,900–7,500 ft).
Ecology
Aquilegia aurea blooms in June and July. It is one of the diagnostic species for the high-altitude Aquilegio aureae-Doronicetum columnae plant community that occurs in almost all of the main Bulgarian mountain ranges.
Conservation
As of November 2024, the species has not been assessed for the IUCN Red List.
Citations
References
Tutin, T.G.; Burges, N.A.; Chater, A.O.; Edmondson, J.R.; Heywood, V.H.; Moore, D.M.; Valentine, D.H.; Walters, S.M.; Webb, D.A. (1993). Flora Europaea. Volume 1: Psilotaceae to Platanaceae. Cambridge University Press. ISBN 0-521-41007-X.
Govaerts, R.H.A. (1995). World Checklist of Seed Plants 1. MIM, Deurne. ISBN 90-341-0852-X.
Kata Kunci Pencarian:
- Daftar tumbuhan endemik di Balkan
- Aquilegia aurea
- Aquilegia
- Aquilegia canadensis
- Aquilegia flavescens
- Rila
- Parangalitsa
- Yulen
- List of Balkan endemic plants
- Bayuvi Dupki–Dzhindzhiritsa
- List of plants by common name
