Red or western columbine has previously been featured on BPotD. Although it was late in the day, I had to take a photograph of this particular plant because its stems were the blackest I'd ever seen on a columbine. Had I had more time, and if this wasn't one of the windiest sites of the entire trip, I'd have taken photographs of the entire plant. As it was, this plant was dancing around quite a bit. This was taken in Tatsheshini-Alsek Provincial Park, or the extreme northwestern corner of British Columbia (which has the odd distinction of having Yukon to the north and Alaska to the south).

The range of Aquilegia formosa extends from Alaska south to Baja California in Mexico, where it is generally found in open woodlands at low- to mid-elevations. The Burke Museum has an extensive set of photographs.

I'm doing a fair bit for Botany 2008 this week (led a couple tours on Saturday already). If you're a BPotD reader and attending the conference, do note that I'll be giving sunset tours of the botanical garden @ 7pm both tonight and tomorrow night (Tuesday). I'm happy to share the garden with you!