The Rocky Mountain Lavender and White Columbine is Colorado’s state flower, discovered in 1820 and officially adopted in 1899. Its scientific name is Aquilegia caerulea and it represents the state’s blue skies, white snow, and gold mining industry. The flower is protected by law and can be seen growing throughout the state.
Colorado’s state flower is the Rocky Mountain Lavender and White Columbine. The Rocky Mountain columbine was discovered in 1820 by Edwin James while climbing the mountain on Pike’s Peak. It was voted Colorado’s state flower by area schoolchildren in 1891. A girls’ club in Cripple Creek discovered in 1899, however, that lavender-white columbine had never been officially designated the state flower of Colorado. On April 4, 1899, the Lavender and White Columbine was officially adopted as the state flower of Colorado by the Colorado Legislature in Senate Bill 261.
The scientific name of Colorado’s state flower is Aquilegia caerulea, adapted from the Latin word aquila, meaning “eagle.” This adaptation of the word is symbolic of the columbine’s claw-like spurs. Rocky Mountain white and lavender columbine is also commonly referred to as Colorado columbine or Colorado blue columbine.
Of the more than 70 species of columbine in the world, about a third are native to North America. White and Lavender Columbine has delicate blue-purple spurs and petals, a yellow center, and white cup. The state flower of Colorado is said to represent the vast blue skies, pure white snow, and dynamic gold mining industry of the state. “Where the Columbine Grow” was adopted as the state song of Colorado in 1915.
The rich fragrance of white columbine and lavender attracts butterflies, hummingbirds and bees. Rocky Mountain lavender-white columbine grows throughout the state and blooms from late spring to early summer. Though rare in some areas of Colorado, the flower can be seen growing along roadsides, in aspen groves, forest edges, and in moist clearings or mountain drainages. It prefers high altitudes and full to partial sun.
Considered rare and endangered, the Colorado state flower is protected by a law enacted by the Colorado General Assembly in 1925. The law indicates that it is the duty of all citizens of the state of Colorado to protect the rare white columbine and lavender from waste and destruction, and it is strictly forbidden to uproot or dig up white columbine and lavender on public land. The collection of flowers, stems and flower buds is limited to 25 per day. It is also against the law to harvest white and lavender columbine on private property without the owner’s consent. Violators of these laws can face hefty fines and penalties.
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