Species:  Aquiegia Canadensis

Family:  Ranunculacea (Buttercup)

Common Names:  Columbine, Honeysuckle, Meeting House, Rock Bells

Habitat:  It is often on steep slopes, it prefers a dry open area.

Growing Season:  It blooms March - August.

Plant Size:  2-3 feet tall

Significant Characteristics/Features for Identification: The columbine has five scarlet petals.   The stamen and pistil are yellow.  Its leaves come in groups of three.  It is pollinated by bees, and other long tongued insects.  They are perennials, meaning they come back every year.  Their seeds come in a brown capsule containing many shiny black seeds.  It has a long slender stem.

Uses:  It was used by ancient herbalists to treat a variety of ailments.  The columbine was used as medicine and cologne for female Native Americans.

Folklore:  The columbine was ranked as the most popular plant by the Native Americans.  They believed that if you give the columbine to a women it is good luck but if you give it to a man, it's bad.
    Two young girls were walking through the woods, they decided to stop and rest on a flat rock near some trees.  There were many fluffy clouds in the sky.  The girls used their imaginations, and identified the clouds as assorted animals  One of the girls said she saw a flock of doves with their wings extending on the side of the hill.  The other girl disagreed saying it looked like the bent claws of an eagles.  The flower's name is columba, which means dove.  Perhaps the two girls who named the flower saw the resemblance.