Columbine

Several stems and basal leaves form a bushy perennial columbine one to three feet tall with handsome, clear yellow flowers that are held relatively erect on long stalks rather than nodding. Leaves are usually divided into three, occasionally into two parts (variety hinckleyana), with leaflets up to four centimeters long, all carried on petioles up to 20 centimeters in length. Petal blades normally range from eight to sixteen centimeters long, but those of variety hinckleyana are only two centimeters long and sixteen millimeters wide. Spurs range from less than four to more than ten centimeters in length, with four to nine centimeters most common.