Aquilegia iulia
| Aquilegia iulia | |
|---|---|
| |
| Flower | |
Scientific classification 
| |
| Kingdom: | Plantae |
| Clade: | Tracheophytes |
| Clade: | Angiosperms |
| Clade: | Eudicots |
| Order: | Ranunculales |
| Family: | Ranunculaceae |
| Genus: | Aquilegia |
| Species: | A. iulia
|
| Binomial name | |
| Aquilegia iulia | |
Aquilegia iulia, known as the Julian columbine,[2] is a perennial flowering plant in the family Ranunculaceae, endemic to Slovenia.[1]
Description
[edit]Aquilegia iulia is a perennial herbaceous plant with smooth or sparsely hairy and leafy stems. The leaves are smooth, long-stalked, and ternate or biternate. The flowers are either solitary or form bract-like inflorescences, and are large (up to 66 mm (2.6 in) across) and blue-violet. The sepals are egg-shaped or pointed oval-shaped, up to 33 mm (1.3 in) long and 18 mm (0.7 in) wide, and downy on the undersides and edges. The petals of the primary flowers are the same size as the sepals, while the nectar spurs are shorter and straight or slightly curved. The stamens do not protrude beyond the petals, and form a spread-out shape. The anthers are yellow and the follicles are small.[3]
Taxonomy
[edit]Aquilegia iulia belongs to a clade containing most of the European columbine species, which appear to have diverged from their closest relatives in Asia in the early Pleistocene, a little over 2 million years ago.[4] It is most closely related to Aquilegia einseleana, from which it is distinguished by its larger flowers, longer and broader sepals, and larger petals that are longer than the nectar spurs; and to Aquilegia kitaibelii, differentiated by its smoother stems and leaves, slightly larger flowers, and longer and broader sepals. It can be distinguished from Aquilegia bertolonii by its larger flowers and longer and broader sepals, and by its petals being longer than the nectar spurs.[3]
Taxonomic history
[edit]The type specimen, identified at the time as A. kitaibelii, was collected in August 1920 in the Julian Alps by the Austrian-Italian botanist Carlo de Marchesetti. It was described as a separate species in its own right by the Italian botanist Enio Nardi in 2011.[3]
Etymology
[edit]The specific epithet iulia comes from the Latin name Iuliae Alpes of the Julian Alps, to which the species is native.[3]
Distribution and habitat
[edit]Aquilegia iulia is endemic to the Julian Alps in northwestern Slovenia, growing on a wide ridge east of the mountain Krn[3] and on the Trnovo Forest Plateau.[5] It grows on calcareous rocky slopes[6] and rock crevices[5] at altitudes of 400–1,350 m (1,310–4,430 ft).[7] It is also found in black pine and Scots pine forests,[7] larch forests,[8] beech forests,[9] alpine meadows,[8] and occasionally in gravel river beds of the Trebušica and Belca rivers.[10]
Conservation
[edit]As of May 2025[update], the species has not been assessed for the IUCN Red List.[11] However, it is considered a species of conservation concern in Slovenia.[6] Current threats include the conversion of the species' gravelly soil habitats to pastureland.[12]
Ecology
[edit]Aquilegia iulia is a diagnostic species for the following plant communities:
- Thlaspietea rotundifolii, along with the limestone fern Gymnocarpium robertianum, Adenostyles glabra, and hawkweed Hieracium bifidum[5]
- Primulo carniolicae-Potentilletum clusianae, along with the cinquefoil Potentilla clusiana, Carniolan primrose Primula carniolica, Carex firma sedge, earleaf bellflower Campanula cochleariifolia, Rhodothamnus chamaecistus, Hladnikia pastinacifolia, and hawkweed Hieracium pillosum[13]
It is also found in the Amelanchiero ovalis-Pinetum mugo dwarf mountain pine scrub plant community, where it grows in association with round-leaved wintergreen Pyrola rotundifolia, bitter willow Salix eleagnos, carniolan masterwort Astrantia carniolica, Trisetum argenteum oatgrass, Zois' bellflower Campanula zoysii and the lady's-slipper orchid Cypripedium calceolus.[14]
Hybrid specimens transitional between A. iulia and A. einseleana have been observed in gravel river beds, an occasional habitat of both species.[10]
References
[edit]- ^ a b "Aquilegia iulia E.Nardi". Plants of the World Online. Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. Retrieved 17 May 2025.
- ^ Dakskobler, Igor; Strgar, Polona (2017). Rastlinstvo Črne Prsti in Njena Botanična Pot [Flora of Črna Prst and its botanical trail] (PDF) (in Slovenian). Stara Fužina: Turizem Bohinj. p. 15. ISBN 9789612857325. Retrieved 17 May 2025.
- ^ a b c d e Nardi, Enio (2011). "Diagnoses aquilegiarum novarum in Europa crescentium" [Diagnoses of new species of European columbines]. Webbia (in Latin). 66 (2): 231–232. Bibcode:2011Webbi..66..231N. doi:10.1080/00837792.2011.10670897. Retrieved 17 May 2025.
- ^ Fior, Simone; Li, Mingai; Oxelman, Bengt; Viola, Roberto; Hodges, Scott A.; Ometto, Lino; Varotto, Claudio (2013). "Spatiotemporal reconstruction of the Aquilegia rapid radiation through next-generation sequencing of rapidly evolving cpDNA regions". New Phytologist. 198 (2): 579–592. Bibcode:2013NewPh.198..579F. doi:10.1111/nph.12163. PMID 23379348.
- ^ a b c Dakskobler, Igor (2023). "Spiraea decumbens Koch subsp. tomentosa (Poech) Dostál, novelty for the flora of Slovenia and the Dinaric Alps". Hacquetia. 22 (1): 107–116. Bibcode:2023Hacq...22..107D. doi:10.2478/hacq-2022-0003. Retrieved 17 May 2025.
- ^ a b Aronne, Giovanna; Fantinato, Eddy; Strumia, Sandro; Santangelo, Annalisa; Barberis, Marta; Castro, Sílvia; Cogoni, Donatella; Evju, Marianne; Galloni, Marta; Glasnović, Peter; Klisz, Marcin; Kull, Tiiu; Lanfranco, Sandro; Lazarević, Maja; Petanidou, Theodora; Puchałka, Radosław; Ranalli, Rosa; Stefanaki, Anastasia; Surina, Bostjan; Fišer, Živa (2023). "Identifying bottlenecks in the life cycle of plants living on cliffs and rocky slopes: Lack of knowledge hinders conservation actions". Biological Conservation. 286: 110289. Bibcode:2023BCons.28610289A. doi:10.1016/j.biocon.2023.110289. Retrieved 17 May 2025.
- ^ a b Dakskobler, Igor; Kutnar, Lado; Rozman, Andrej (2015). Bazoljubno borovje v Sloveniji: združbe črnega in rdečega bora na karbonatni podlagi in rušja v alpskih dolinah [Basophilic pine communities in Slovenia - Black and Scots pine communities on calcareous bedrock and dwarf pine stands in Alpine valleys] (PDF) (in Slovenian). Ljubljana: Gozdarski inštitut Slovenije. p. 53. ISBN 9789616425896. Retrieved 17 May 2025.
- ^ a b Dakskobler, Igor; Kutnar, Lado; Rozman, Andrej (2016). Macesnovje, Ruševje, Zelenojelševje in Druge Gorske Grmovne Združbe v Sloveniji: Združbe macesna, rušja, zelene jelše, jerebike, kranjske kozje češnje, velikolistne in Waldsteinove vrbe na zgornji gozdni meji in nad njo [Larch, Rush, Green Alder and Other Mountain Shrub Associations in Slovenia: Associations of Larch, Rowan, Green Alder, Rowan, Carniolan Goat Cherry, Large-leaved and Waldstein Willow at the Upper Forest Line and Above It] (in Slovenian). Ljubljana: Gozdarski inštitut Slovenije. doi:10.20315/SilvaSlovenica.0006. ISBN 9789616993166. Retrieved 17 May 2025.
- ^ Dakskobler, Igor; Rozman, Andrej (2021). "Vegetation analysis of the subalpine beech forest on the upper forest line in the Julian Alps (NW Slovenia and NW Italy) and in the northern Dinaric Alps". Hacquetia. 20 (2): 373–564. Bibcode:2021Hacq...20..373D. doi:10.2478/hacq-2021-0013. Retrieved 18 May 2025.
- ^ a b Dakskobler, Igor; Martinčič, Andrej; Strgulc Krajšek, Simona (2023). "Dve novi dolinski nahajališči (pod)visokogorskih rastlinskih vrst v Zgornjem Posočju" [Two new lowland localities of (sub)alpine plant species in the Upper Soča Valley]. Hladnikia (in Slovenian). 52: 3–28. Retrieved 17 May 2025.
- ^ "Aquilegia - genus". IUCN Red List. 2024. Retrieved 17 May 2025.
- ^ Kovač, Marko (2015). "Ukrepi za zagotavljanje ugodnega ohranitvenega stanja gozdnih habitatnih tipov in habitatov vrst: predlogi dobrih praks" [Actions for Maintaining the Favorable Conservation Status of Forest Habitat Types and Habitats of Species: a Proposal of Good Practices] (PDF). Gozdarski Vestnik (in Slovenian). 73 (1): 45. Retrieved 18 May 2025.
- ^ Dakskobler, Igor; Martinčič, Andrej (2020). "Plant communities of moist rock crevices with endemic Primula carniolica in the (sub)montane belt of western Slovenia". Hacquetia. 19 (2): 155–231. Bibcode:2020Hacq...19..155D. doi:10.2478/hacq-2020-0005. Retrieved 18 May 2025.
- ^ Dakskobler, Igor; Cojzer, Mateja; Rozman, Andrej (2023). "Phytosociological description of the dwarf mountain pine shrub community (Amelanchiero ovalis-Pinetum mugo) in the valleys of the Slovenian Alps". Acta Silvae et Ligni. 130: 33–54. doi:10.20315/ASetL.130.3. Retrieved 17 May 2025.
External links
[edit]
Media related to Aquilegia iulia at Wikimedia Commons
