Posted by Horticulture Guy - Peter Punzi | Posted in Southeast U.S. Gardeners | Posted on 02-05-2008
Question: I’m trying to identify a flower. We live in Athens, Georgia (she’s about 20 minutes outside of Athens.) and this is something that has been in my friends yard since she moved into the house, and until this year she’s been pulling them up because she thought they were clover. Looks like 2 flowers put together, totally different parts of them. Front part is white w/yellow stamens and back part is purple and looks almost lily-ish.She hadn’t gotten to it this year, and they bloomed. Here’s the link for the pictures… Thanks, Wendy R.
Answer: That is a type of columbine (Aquilegia) a garden perennial. The darker colored part are the sepals and the white the petals. There are many types of columbines. Some produce flowers in a single color or like the one your friend has are bicolored.