Wikipedia

Aquilegia sibirica

Aquilegia sibirica, the Siberian columbine, is a species of flowering plant in the family Ranunculaceae's 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 one and two feet tall with flowers that are lilac-blue and white in color.[3]

Aquilegia sibirica
Aquilegia sibirica (Siberian columbine)
Botanical illustration by Pierre Jean François Turpin
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Tracheophytes
Clade: Angiosperms
Clade: Eudicots
Order: Ranunculales
Family: Ranunculaceae
Genus: Aquilegia
Species:
A. sibirica
Binomial name
Aquilegia sibirica
Synonyms[1]
List
    • Aquilegia bicolor Ehrh.
    • Aquilegia grandiflora Patrin ex DC.
    • Aquilegia sibirica var. bicolor Regel
    • Aquilegia sibirica var. concolor C.A.Mey.
    • Aquilegia sibirica var. discolor C.A.Mey.
    • Aquilegia sibirica var. grandiflora DC.
    • Aquilegia sibirica var. ircutiana Fisch., C.A.Mey. & Avé-Lall.
    • Aquilegia sibirica var. media Rapaics
    • Aquilegia sibirica var. stenopetala Regel
    • Aquilegia speciosa DC.
    • Aquilegia speciosa var. bicolor (Ehrh.) DC.
    • Aquilegia speciosa var. concolor DC.
    • Aquilegia vulgaris var. daurica Willd.
    • Aquilegia vulgaris var. sibirica L.
    • Aquilegia vulgaris var. speciosa Aiton

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.

Taxonomy and evolution edit

The Siberian columbine was first described with the binomial Aquilegia sibirica in 1783 within Jean-Baptiste Lamarck's botanical volume for Encyclopédie Méthodique.[4] The plant had been previously described as Aquilegia vulgaris var. sibirica in 1767 within the 12th edition of Systema Naturae.[5]

By 1892, the Siberian columbine was identified as a close relative of the northern North American Aquilegia brevistyla, the smallflower columbine.[6] The plant's appearance is very proximate to that of Aquilegia flabellata native to the Japanese Alps.[7][8][note 1] A hybrid between A. sibirica and Aquilegia glandulosa, Aquilegia × gubanovii, was identified in Mongolia in 1991.[11] A. sibirica and Aquilegia ecalcarata diverged as separate species between 4.5 and 6 million years ago and remain cross-compatible.[12] Crosses between A. sibirica and A. ecalcarata–the only Aquilegia species that lacks nectar spurs on its petals–have been studied to identify the gene responsible for spurred petals.[13][note 2]

Description edit

In common with other Aquilegia species, the Siberian columbine possesses nectar spurs.[13] Pollination of A. sibirica is generally caused by bees.[15][note 3] The plant prefers temperate environments. Also in common with other Aquilegia, A. sibirica is a hardy perennial plant.[1][7]

The plant has nearly glabrous bi- and triternate leaves with leaflets that run between one and two inches across.[3] Stems are leafless, with many terminating in flowers.[16] Siberian columbine flowers are lilac-blue to white. The plant may be between one and two feet in height.[3] In northern latitudes, the flower blooms between May and June.[17]

Petals on A. sibirica develop a curvature relatively early and at a shorter length–between 1 centimetre (0.39 in) and 2 centimetres (0.79 in)–than other Aquilegia species. The petals fold longitudinally. As nectar spurs of different Aquilegia species develop, they demonstrate greater variance. In the case of A. sibirica's nectar spurs, they possess greater curvature than those of A. formosa and A. chrysantha.[15]

Phytochemistry edit

The plant has been considered a medicinal herb in Mongolia. In the 21st century, extracts from Aquilegia sibirica have been researched for and found to possess antifungal qualities.[18]

Distribution edit

 
A Siberian hillside featuring Aquilegia sibirica, Veratrum album, and Pedicularis resupinata, c. 1920

Aquilegia sibirica is native to the north-central Asian regions of Siberia, northern Mongolia, Kazakhstan, and Xinjiang.[1] Evidence for a continuous Euro-Siberian vegetation is found in the distribution of the Siberian columbine considered alongside that of the Aquilegia vulgaris.[19] The population in Middle Siberia is considered a quaternary relict (a population that once possessed a broader range in an earlier geologic epoch).[20]

In open portions of the taiga in the Siberian Sayansky District, Siberian columbines and other vascular plants can form a dense, two-meter-tall vegetation that can obscure the view of people traversing through these areas.[21] A. sibirica has also been found in the herb layer of the peatlands along Lake Baikal's eastern coast.[22]

The flower was introduced to the United States by the United States Department of Agriculture in 1933.[3] Finnish research has suggested that Aquilegia sibirica is among the Siberian and Far Eastern plants that could prove valuable for northern landscaping.[23]

Notes edit

  1. ^ Historically, A. flabellata was considered a blue variety of the Siberian columbine with the homotypic synonyms Aquilegia sibirica var. flatbellata and Aquilegia sibirica var. japonica.[8][9][10]
  2. ^ As distinct from Semiaquilegia, a genus in the Ranunculaceae family that resemble Aquilegia but are spurless.[14]
  3. ^ Other pollinators are more prevalent among other Aquilegia species, such as hummingbirds for A. formosa and hawk moths for A. chrysantha.[15]

References edit

  1. ^ a b c d e "Aquilegia sibirica Lam". Plants of the World Online. Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. Retrieved 27 April 2024.
  2. ^ Encyclopedia of Biodiversity. Academic Press. 5 February 2013. p. 269. ISBN 978-0-12-384720-1. Retrieved 22 September 2023.
  3. ^ a b c d Inventory No. 115: Plant Material Introduced by the Division of Plant Introduction, Bureau of Plant Industry, April 1 to June 30, 1933 (No. 102378–103406). Washington, D.C.: United States Department of Agriculture. July 1935. p. 44. Archived from the original on 8 September 2012. Retrieved 1 October 2023.
  4. ^ "Aquilegia sibirica". International Plant Names Index. Archived from the original on 11 May 2023. Retrieved 13 August 2023.
  5. ^ "Aquilegia vulgaris var. sibirica". Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. Archived from the original on 14 August 2023. Retrieved 13 August 2023.
  6. ^ Brühl, P. (1892). "De Ranunculaceis Indicis Disputationes". The Journal of the Asiatic Society of Bengal (in Latin) (3). Asiatic Society of Bengal: 319.
  7. ^ a b "Columbines". University of Saskatchewan. 2 May 2021. Archived from the original on 14 August 2023. Retrieved 13 August 2023.
  8. ^ a b Takeda, H. (1913). The Vegetation of Japan. Cambridge: Cambridge Botany School. p. 15.
  9. ^ "Aquilegia sibirica var. flabellata (Siebold & Zucc.) Finet & Gagnep". Global Biodiversity Information Facility. Retrieved 26 April 2024.
  10. ^ "Aquilegia flabellata". Plants of the World Online. Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. Retrieved 27 April 2024.
  11. ^ "Aquilegia × gubanovii Kamelin". International Plant Names Index. Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. Retrieved 27 April 2024.
  12. ^ Levin, Donald A. (2013). "The timetable for allopolyploidy in flowering plants". Annals of Botany. 112 (7): 1202. doi:10.1093/aob/mct194. JSTOR 42801588.
  13. ^ a b Ballerini, Evangeline S.; Min, Ya; Edwards, Molly B.; Kramer, Elena M.; Hodges, Scott A. (8 September 2020). "POPOVICH, encoding a C2H2 zinc-finger transcription factor, plays a central role in the development of a key innovation, floral nectar spurs, in Aquilegia". Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America. 117 (36). National Academy of Sciences: 22552–22560. Bibcode:2020PNAS..11722552B. doi:10.1073/pnas.2006912117. JSTOR 26969162. PMC 7486772. PMID 32848061.
  14. ^ Mabberley, D. J. (1997) [1987]. The Plant-Book: A Portable Dictionary of the Vascular Plants (2nd ed.). Cambridge University Press. p. 656. ISBN 978-0-521-41421-0.
  15. ^ a b c Ballerini, E. S.; Kramer, E. M.; Hodges, S. A. (22 August 2019). "Comparative transcriptomics of early petal development across four diverse species of Aquilegia reveal few genes consistently associated with nectar spur development". BMC Genomics. 20 (1).
  16. ^ "Aquilegia sibirica". Alpine Garden Society Plant Encyclopedia. Alpine Garden Society. Archived from the original on 1 November 2023. Retrieved 13 August 2023.
  17. ^ "Hardy Exotic Plants Suitable for the Gardens of Missouri and Adjoining States". Missouri Botanical Garden Bulletin. IX (7). Missouri Botanical Garden: 91. September 1921.
  18. ^ Giordani, Cristiano; Simonetti, Giovanna; Natsagdorj, Damdinsuren; Choijamts, Gotov; Ghirga, Francesca; Calcaterra, Andrea; Quaglio, Deborah; De Angelis, Giulia; Toniolo, Chiara; Pasqua, Gabriella (2020). "Antifungal activity of Mongolian medicinal plant extracts". Natural Product Research. 34 (4). Taylor & Francis: 449–455. doi:10.1080/14786419.2019.1610960. PMID 31135192. S2CID 167220925. Archived from the original on 13 August 2023. Retrieved 13 August 2023.
  19. ^ Fior, Simone; Li, Mingai; Oxelman, Bengt; Viola, Roberto; Hodges, Scott A.; Ometto, Lino; Varotto, Claudio (5 February 2013). "Spatiotemporal reconstruction of the Aquilegia rapid radiation through next-generation sequencing of rapidly evolving cpDNA regions". New Phytologist. 198 (2). Wiley-Blackwell: 325–633. doi:10.1111/nph.12163. PMID 23379348.
  20. ^ Ziman, Svetlana N.; Keener, Carl S. (1989). "A Geographical Analysis of the Family Ranunculaceae". Annals of the Missouri Botanical Garden. 76 (4). Missouri Botanical Garden: 1021. doi:10.2307/2399690. JSTOR 2399690. Archived from the original on 14 August 2023. Retrieved 14 August 2023.
  21. ^ Printz, Henrik (1921). The Vegetation of the Siberian-Mongolian Frontiers (The Sayansk Region). Royal Norwegian Society of Sciences and Letters. p. 50.
  22. ^ Brianskaia, Elena; Schmieder, Klaus; Boecker, Reinhard; Tubanova, Dolgor; Gyninova, Ayur (October 2021). "Syntaxonomy of peatland vegetation: case study of the central zone of Lake Baikal eastern coast". Plant Biosystems. 155 (5): 1001–1012. doi:10.1080/11263504.2020.1810814.
  23. ^ "Hardy plants for landscaping and restoration in northern Finland". Environment, Local Society and Sustainable Tourism (PDF). Artic Centre Reports. Vol. 50. University of Lapland. 2007. p. 63. Archived (PDF) from the original on 13 August 2023. Retrieved 13 August 2023.
Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Aquilegia_sibirica&oldid=1221101589"