I remember my first encounter with Wild Columbine like it was yesterday. It was actually over 40 years ago, during my medical school days. It was late spring and I needed a change of scenery while studying for my board exam. I made a quick jaunt to Raven Run Nature Preserve in Lexington, targeting the trail that led to a rock outcropping which overhung the Kentucky River. Typical for my hiking style at the time, I was on a mission, and blitzkrieged my way to the overlook, most likely failing to notice some worthwhile finds along the way. I recall having the overlook to myself for the entirety of my stay – perhaps 30 minutes, enjoying the beautiful view onto the Kentucky River.

To return, one doubles back and the trail climbs up a mild grade, around, and at times over, exposed limestone, causing one to slow down, and at times be at eye level with the plants themselves. I noted that thriving in that environment was a tall wildflower with unique red blossoms that I had not seen before – the flowers reminded me of Chinese lanterns. Given the unusual flower shape and the habitat, I had no trouble identifying it with my wildflower field guide when I returned to my apartment – Wild Columbine. In the decades since, we have seen it many times on our hikes, usually in moist creek valleys of the Ohio and Mississippi River watersheds that host exposed limestone, frequently in association with communities of ferns.

I do not recall how we ended up with Columbine in our garden but it has thrived here and is the unchallenged peak performer of our May and early June garden. I enjoy seeing visitors first observe this plant, which is generally unknown to them, and almost at eye level, arising above a low rock wall along our drive way.

Generally the flowers hang down, with the stamens and pistil facing the ground. This positioning makes the five nectar producing spurs on the top the most obvious part of the flower. These elongated structures produce and store nectar, making the flower attractive to pollinators with long tongues such as hummingbirds and long-tongued bee species, including Bumblebees, Leafcutter Bees, and Carpenter Bees. The timing of the Columbine blossoms is important as they flower at the same time that hummingbirds return to the Ohio River Valley on their northern migration. Honeybees will visit the flowers but primarily to collect protein-rich pollen from the anthers, as their tongues can not reach the nectar.

That said however, honeybees appear to sense the stored nectar as they spend a lot of time trying to access it through the spur wall. We saw this behavior over and over. Some authorities report that honeybees will chew a hole in the spur to access the nectar, but consider the activity not nutritionally rewarding as their short tongues still have trouble retrieving significant nectar. The term for this is “nectar robbing”.

As I initiated this article, the Columbine in the garden was past its prime and had more seedheads on the plants than flowers. As I studied the photo below I became curious, wondering why the seedhead was upright while the flowers were bowed down.

So I went full “science nerd”, traipsing back out to the garden for closer observation. The first thing that I noted was that there was a lot of variation in the seedheads, with from three to six seedpods bound together. The seeds are stacked vertically in these pods, and as the seedpods dry out, they open to the air. Then if wind, an animal, or clumsy gardener come in contact with the stem, the substantial seeds are dramatically launched into the air, and hit surrounding plants with the audible sound of a mini hail storm. It appears that the seedpods in the photo below have already lost their seeds.

In my hand in this photo are the ripe seeds of a single seedhead. As flower seeds go these are quite hefty and that accounts for the sound they make when they hit nearby plants.

As I looked at a series of seedheads, noting the exposed seeds at the opening of the pods, I also saw that many featured an insect moving in and out of the seedpod opening. I was not familiar with this bug.

Then as I looked around I saw that they were all over the seedpods on this cluster of Columbine plants. I described them to the photographer as “ladybug-like” in structure, although they were much smaller.

I was able to identify them as Ashy Gray Lady Beetles. As I researched them, I found out that these beetles are some of the good guys of the garden, preying on aphids and other damaging insects. In fact, if you look at the photo below, you will see some Cotton Aphids that they are feeding upon. Aphids damage plants by sucking fluids out of them and by spreading viruses.

Another beneficial insect that we noted on this survey was the Two-spotted Stink Bug, which significantly resembles the Ashy Gray Lady Beetle . It also feeds on insects that are harmful to garden plants.

Identifying insects can be a real challenge as they frequently have many stages, termed instars, along the line to maturation. In this photo you can see several stages of the Two-spotted Stink Bug including some eggs. Eventually they will take on the true stink bug “shield” shape.

In the end my curiosity about the orientation of the seed head led to the discovery of a horde of beneficial insects in our garden. As for my observation that the seed head is typically oriented 180 degrees opposite of the flower’s position, that is accurate. By the time my question arose, it was too late in the season to truly document that in our garden. But the horticultural literature reports that after successful pollination, and the flower petals fall away, that “the flower stem will begin a slow change in orientation to facilitate seed dispersal”. I look forward to watching for that next spring.

Photos by Peggy Juengling Burns and Patrick Burns, with the exception of the Kentucky River photo which was taken from the Raven Run Nature Preserve website.