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Blog Entry 4 of 8 Park Naturalist Ramblings
Here will reside the musings and ramblings of the Naturalists at Castlewood Canyon State Park. Find out which wildflowers are in bloom, which birds are courting, and what the rocks are doing. Of course, Cherry Creek continues her relentless carving of the Canyon. But words cannot capture the beauty and serenity of Castlewood Canyon. Visit us to find out why we say "It's always a great day in the Park!"

Blog Url: http://denver.yourhub.com/~ParkNaturalist

Colorado's State Flower - facts and myths

Contributed by: Castlewood Canyon   on 6/16/2006

The Columbine has a few different names. It may be called the Blue Columbine (there are other colors), the Colorado Blue Columbine, or Rocky Mountain Columbine, but the latin name, Aquileagia coerulea, never changes. It is a flower in the Hellebore Family and is found in Colorado from the Foothills to Alpine habitats. It prefers moist soil, so it is not usually found out in the plains, but you may find some growing in canyons, ravines or in shady areas. It is found in a few places in Castlewood Canyon.

Many staff members at the park have had many crazy questions (that may be a topic for another day). But we have heard many people asking about the law the makes it a felony to pick a columbine. At first, everyone thought it was just another "crazy question" but the more we got, the more curious we got.

After a litte digging into the history of the columbine in Colorado, we found out some interesting information. The white and lavender Columbine was adopted as the official state flower on April 4, 1899 by an act of the General Assembly (a cactus had come in second place). In 1925, the General Assembly made it the duty of all citizens to protect this rare species from needless destruction or waste. To further protect this fragile flower, the law prohibits digging or uprooting the flower on public lands and limits the gathering of buds, blossoms and stems to 25 in one day. It is unlawful to pick the columbine on private land without consent of the land owner. Citation: Senate Bill 261, 1899, Bill, 1925; Colorado Revised Statutes 24-80-905 through 24-80-908. Any person who violates any provision of section 24-80-907 is guilty of a misdemeanor and, upon conviction thereof, shall be punished by a fine of not less than five nor more than fifty dollars.

So, while it is not a felony to pick a columbine, the flower does have some extra protection that other flowers do not have. Interesting! Some myths do have a bit of truth in them. Today, the columbine is not listed as rare or endangered. Most public land has regulations about what can be taken off the property. Colorado State Parks prohibits taking any part of any plant without a permit, so all plants are protected and this includes columbines. No picking any flowers in the park, but the rangers won't take you away in handcuffs if you do. You'll only get a fine of $50, but why not just leave them for everyone else to enjoy? Who knows, someone else might even come up with a crazier question!


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CONTRIBUTOR INFORMATION

Castlewood Canyon

Franktown , CO

Castlewood Canyon has posted 8 blog entries and 0 comments since joining on 2/23/2006. Castlewood Canyon's average blog rating is 4.91.
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