e-ReferenceDesk's College and 50 State Learning Resource Guide

Find Online Colleges

Find Campus Colleges

Flowers & Floral Emblems

The term floral emblem, which refers to flowers specifically, is primarily used in Australia and Canada. In the United States, the term state flower is more often used.

Colorado Symbols

Colorado Symbols

Air and Space Museum, Animal, Bird, Fish, Flag, Flower, Folk Dance, Fossil, Gemstone, Grass, Insect, Mineral, Motto, Nicknames, Rock, Seal, Song, Tartan, Tree

Colorado Flower

White & Lavender Columbine

(Aquilegia caerulea)

Adopted on April 4, 1899.

The white and lavender Columbine, Aquilegia caerules, was adopted as the official state flower on April 4, 1899 by an act of the General Assembly. In 1925, the General Assembly made it the duty of all citizens to protect this rare species from needless destruction or waste. To further protect this fragile flower, the law prohibits digging or uprooting the flower on public lands and limits the gathering of buds, blossoms and stems to 25 in one day. It is unlawful to pick the columbine on private land without consent of the land owner.

Citation: Senate Bill 261, 1899, Bill, 1925; Colorado Revised Statutes 24-80-905 through 24-80-908.

Hardiness Zone: 3 to 9
Height: 3 ft Spacing: 15 in
Type: herbaceous perennial
Flowers: Blue and white

The two-inch blue or blue and white flowers of this columbine are the Colorado state flower. Do not expect the plant to be long-lived if planted in hot sites. Provide a partially shaded growing area with a moist, well-drained soil. Beautiful species native to the Rocky mountains with blue and white flowers May thru June

Propagation: Propagation is by seed or division.

Cultivars:

'Blue Bird' - A selection of the 'Songbird Series' with light blue and white flowers (Vis. 1).
Dwarf Fantasy Series' - Flowers in blue, pink, purple and white. The plants are very small, only 4 inches tall.
'Heavenly Blue' - Blue flowers, plant to 3 feet tall.
'Rostern' ('Red Star') - Red and white flowers.

References for Cultivars: Bailey Nurseries 1997, Midwest
Groundcovers 1999.

Taxonomic Hierarchy
Kingdom	Plantae -- Plants
Subkingdom	Tracheobionta -- Vascular plants
Superdivision	Spermatophyta -- Seed plants
Division	Magnoliophyta -- Flowering plants
Class	Magnoliopsida -- Dicotyledons
Subclass	Magnoliidae –
Order	Ranunculales –
Family	Ranunculaceae – Buttercup family
Genus	Aquilegia L. – columbine
Species	Aquilegia caerulea James – Colorado blue columbine
Variety	Aquilegia caerulea James var. ochroleuca Hook. – white Colorado columbine

State Flowers

Find images and a brief history of the flowers representing, usually by legislative action, the state symbols of each of the fifty states. Many of the state flowers are actually trees -- some states have chosen the same species as state tree and as state flower.

flow·er (flour)
n.
1.
a. It is the reproductive structure of many seed-bearing plants, typically having either specialized male or female organs or both male and female organs, like stamens and a pistil, enclosed in an outer envelope of petals and sepals. b. Such a structure having showy or colorful parts; a blossom.
2. A plant that is cultivated or cherished for its blossoms. 3. The condition or a time of having developed flowers: The violets were in full flower. 4. Something, such as an decoration or a figure of speech that resembles a flower in shape, fineness, or attractiveness.

Find Online Colleges

Find Campus Colleges

Colorado Symbols

Colorado Flower

White & Lavender Columbine

(Aquilegia caerulea)

Adopted on April 4, 1899.

Taxonomic Hierarchy