Aquilegia sibirica

Aquilegia sibirica, the Siberian columbine, is a species of flowering plant in the family Ranunculaceae native to the north-central Asian regions of Siberia, northern Mongolia, Kazakhstan, and Xinjiang. A hardy perennial plant, it prefers temperate environments. The Siberian columbine can be between 1 ft and 2 ft tall with flowers that are lilac-blue and white in color.

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
The Siberian columbine was first described with the binomial Aquilegia sibirica in 1783 within Jean-Baptiste Lamarck's botanical volume for Encyclopédie Méthodique. The plant had been previously described as Aquilegia vulgaris var. sibirica in 1767 within the 12th edition of Systema Naturae by Carl Linnaeus. All of the synonyms of A. sibirica are heterotypic synonyms, ones where the type specimen does not match or they have a different taxonomic rank.

Aquilegia species evolved relatively quickly after first appearing during the Late Miocene around 6.9 million years ago in East Asia. Aquilegia species diversified quickly and spread into both Europe and North America before migrating back into Asia. As a result, they are a well-known model system in evolutionary biology but confirming an accurate phylogenetic tree showing the relationships between the species in the genus has proved difficult. A. sibirica, though native to Asia, is closely related to A. vulgaris of Central Europe.

By 1892, the Siberian columbine was also identified as a close relative of the northern North American Aquilegia brevistyla, the smallflower columbine. The plant's appearance is very proximate to that of Aquilegia flabellata native to the Japanese Alps. A wild hybrid between A. sibirica and Aquilegia glandulosa, Aquilegia × gubanovii, was identified in Mongolia in 1991. A. sibirica and Aquilegia ecalcarata diverged as separate species between 4.5 and 6 million years ago and remain cross-compatible. Philip A. Munz identified that it had been hybridized with Aquilegia vulgaris to produce to produce A. ×garnieriana. 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.

Description
In common with other Aquilegia species, the Siberian columbine possesses nectar spurs. Pollination of A. sibirica is generally caused by bees. It is also favored by other pollinators such as butterflies and, in the flower's introduced North American populations, hummingbirds. A. sibirica is resistant to the fungal disease verticillium wilt. The plant prefers temperate environments. Also in common with other Aquilegia, A. sibirica is a hardy perennial plant. A. sibirica grows well in shady settings and tolerates various soils.

The plant has nearly glabrous bi- and triternate leaves with leaflets that run between one and two inches across. Stems are leafless, with many terminating in flowers. Siberian columbine flowers are lilac-blue to white. The flower is bisexual and features fruit thatis indehiscent (meaning it does not split to release seeds) in the form of a follicle. The plant may be between 1 ft and 2 ft tall in height. In northern latitudes, the flower blooms between May and June.

Petals on A. sibirica develop a curvature relatively early and at a shorter length–between 1 cm and 2 cm–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. sibiricas nectar spurs, they possess greater curvature than those of A. formosa and A. chrysantha.

Phytochemistry
The plant has been considered a medicinal herb in Mongolia. Considered a "major therapeutic drug" in Asian traditional medicine, it has been used to treat diseases in women, asthma, rheumatism, and cardiovascular diseases. It was also known to inhibit Staphylococcus aureus, one of the bacteria responsible for staphylococcal infections.

In the 21st century, extracts from A. sibirica have been researched for and found to possess antifungal qualities. Extracts showed the presence of chlorogenic acid and caffeic acid. Extractions performed with heat and methanol extracted more of the medically relevant compounds than those performed at room temperature or with other solvents.

Distribution
The 70 to 80 Aquilegia species are distributed in the Circumboreal Region, ranging between Eurasia and North America. Aquilegia sibirica is native to the north-central Asian regions of Siberia, northern Mongolia, Kazakhstan, and Xinjiang. When considered alongside the distribution of the closely related and similarly lowland species A. vulgaris, A. sibiricas current distribution suggests the possibility of a historical vegetation system that linked Central Europe with Siberia. The population in Middle Siberia is considered a quaternary relict (a population that once possessed a broader range in an earlier geologic epoch).

In open portions of the taiga in the Siberian Sayansky District, Siberian columbines and other vascular plants were found in 1921 to form a dense, two-meter-tall vegetation that can obscure the view of people traversing through these areas. A. sibirica has also been found in the herb layer of the peatlands along Lake Baikal's eastern coast. It generally is found in lower elevation habitats while Aquilegia glandulosa occupies higher areas in roughly the same regions.

Cultivation
Siberian columbine is cultivated in gardens globally. The flower was introduced to the United States by the United States Department of Agriculture in 1933; these seeds were presented to the United States by A. P. Iljinski, the chief botanist of the Botanic Garden, Leningrad, on behalf of the Soviet Union. Finnish research has suggested that A. sibirica is among the Siberian and Far Eastern plants that could prove valuable for northern landscaping.