Aquilegia gegica is a species of flowering plant in the genus Aquilegia (columbine) in the family Ranunculaceae endemic to the western Transaucasus region in Abkhazia and Georgia.[1] The plant's flower petals are light blue.
| Aquilegia gegica | |
|---|---|
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| Preserved specimen of Aquilegia gegica | |
Scientific classification 
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| Kingdom: | Plantae |
| Clade: | Tracheophytes |
| Clade: | Angiosperms |
| Clade: | Eudicots |
| Order: | Ranunculales |
| Family: | Ranunculaceae |
| Genus: | Aquilegia |
| Species: | A. gegica
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| Binomial name | |
| Aquilegia gegica Jabr.-Kolak.
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Description
editAquilegia gegica is a perennial plant.[1] The pubescence of the plant gives it a greyish appearance. Leaves on the lower portion of the stem are double trifoliate. There are leaves further up the stem. It has long petals that are light blue. The nectar spurs possess a funnel shape and transition from blue in the upper portion to whitish at the lower end.[2]: 103 The plant prefers temperate environments.[1]
Taxonomy
editAquilegia gegica was received its binomial when it was first described in 1953 by Vitta Savelievna Jabrova-Kolakovskaja in the Zametki po Sistematike i Geografii Rastenii. The type locality for the species is Abkhazia, the valley the Gega river.[2]: 103
A. gegica is capable of producing fertile hybrid offspring with Aquilegia colchica, another Aquilegia species endemic to the western Caucasus.[2]: 103
Distribution
editIt is native to the western Transaucasus region of the western Caucasus.[1] The plant can be found in Abkhazia and Georgia.[2]: 103
Conservation
editAs of 2024[update], the Angiosperm Extinction Risk Predictions v1 classifies A. gegica as a "threatened" species.[1]
Cultivation
editBotanist Robert Nold, in his 2003 book Columbines, said that he was unaware of any information regarding A. gegica besides its appearance on a website dedicated to endangered plants from Georgia.[3] The National Botanical Garden of Georgia has cultivated A. gegica derived from plants present on the Egrisi Ridge in the Chkhorotsqu Municipality in 2016.[2]: 103
References
edit- ^ a b c d e "Aquilegia gegica Jabr.-Kolak". Plants of the World Online. Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. Retrieved December 7, 2024.
- ^ a b c d e "Biological Peculiarities of F1 Generation of Hybrids of Two Georgian Endemic Species Aquilegia colchica Kem.-Nath. and Aquilegia gegica Jabr.-Kolak". Bulletin of the Georgian National Academy of Sciences. 15 (2). 2021.
- ^ Nold, Robert (2003). Columbines: Aquilegia, Paraquilegia, and Semiaquilegia. Portland, OR: Timber Press. p. 106. ISBN 0881925888.
Further reading
edit- Nardi, Enio (2015). Il genere Aquilegia L. (Ranunculaceae). ISBN 9788859615187.
