Is this a Columbine?

This is a beautiful little flower, is it a Columbine by any chance?

 

Yes: If growing wild then Aquilegia formosa.

 

Definitely growing wild along a riverbed area mid-Vancouver Island, absolutely love the colour. This was another interesting flower in the same area, except in a much sunnier and sandy location ... can you identify this one for us?

 

Same species in the second photograph. In southwest BC, it's the only native species (there are two others that occur elsewhere in the province)

 

Thanks Daniel, I am very much in the learning phase of distinguishing plant features and characteristics but I would not have guessed these two plants were the same species ... from a layman's eye they look quite different.

Do you have any suggestions as to a comprehensive text on native wildflowers for Vancouver Island? My wife and I are getting into the learning phase more and more and we enjoy the ability to photograph plants on our hikes and then try and identify them. Any suggestions would be appreciated...

 

For comprehensive, one would have to delve into the Illustrated Flora of BC or Flora of the Pacific Northwest - note that neither one of these have photographs, but rather line drawings.

For wildflowers that you are likely to encounter and take notice of, there are two books I'd recommend: Plants of Coastal BC (or Plants of the Pacific Northwest Coast in later editions) and Wildflowers of the Pacific Northwest. The first concentrates on what you'll find in coastal forests, so is handy for local jaunts. If you like to travel to other parts of the PNW, like interior BC or eastern Oregon like I do, then Wildflowers of the PNW is handier.

Both of these are available via the garden's Amazon Store or should be available at local bookstores.

 

Thanks Daniel, much appreciated. The Wildflowers of the Pacific Northwest sounds ideal for our needs, were going to see if our local Chapters has a copy.

 

Those are one of my favorite wildflowers - I never tire of them.

Been looking at them this year on the way to the coastal redwoods, Collings Mountain Trail going to the Bigfoot Trap (often in my signature), and just two days ago when I hiked up to the Blue Ledge Mine above nearby Applegate Lake.

They just look "so cute".