Aquilegia saximontana

[Karaba]

French authors include Aquilegia reuteri in Aquilegia bertolonii.
Several Italian authors restrict the latter to Alpi Apuane and regard the former as a member of the Aquilegia einseleana group.

It's an old thread but it's the only one dealing with the difference betweeen A. pyrenaica and bertolonii.
I just want to add a few points about the position of french botanists on this duo.

In the last Flora gallica, Aquilegia reuteri is now separated from bertolonii and only A. reuteri is mentionned in the french Alps. In the key, the "only" difference between reuteri and pyrenaica is on the spur, generally hooked (>180°) in reuteri, generally arqued (<90°) in pyrenaica. This caracter might be cheap but if you look at pictures at the following links, you will see that there is a striking difference even if, in the extreme case, spurs can look quite similar (it might also vary with anthesis). The difference on the shape of the spur is also mentionned to differenciate A. alpina and reuteri and this is far less obvious.
The difference in the distribution of the two species do not incite to look for any other big differences and Flora Gallica is mainly a (big) key. In Flore de Coste, the other difference is about the leaves as mentionned by Great Moravian. These differences can be seen in the set of pictures below :
- reuteri :  à folioles profondément incisées-lobées, les supérieures à 3-7 lobes linéaires ou entières = (own poor translation) leaflet deaply incised-lobated, the upper ones with 3-7 linear lobes or entire. In Flore de la France méditerranéenne, there is a precision that the incision is at least 30% of the leaflet.
- pyrenaica : à folioles crénelées ou entières  = leaflet crenulated or entire
There is no difference mentionned in french flora about pilosity of the leaves. Usually mentionned as subglabrous in pyrenaica.

Aquilegia pyrenaica
http://www.photoflora.fr/FiTax.php?NumTaxon=4424
http://www.florealpes.com/fiche_aquilegiapyrenaica.php
http://www.tela-botanica.org/bdtfx-nn-74964-illustrations
Aquilegia reuteri
http://www.photoflora.fr/FiTax.php?NumTaxon=4421
http://www.florealpes.com/fiche_aquilegiabertolonii.php
http://www.tela-botanica.org/bdtfx-nn-5725-illustrations

I looked at pictures of A. bertolonii in Italy (http://luirig.altervista.org/flora/taxa/index1.php?scientific-name=aquilegia+bertolonii) and, indeed, the caracter on the spur is not flagrant  This is one of the differences that substain the two entity reuteri and bertolonii as it is mentionned here : http://www.floraitaliae.actaplantarum.org/viewtopic.php?t=1065 and http://www.ambienteinliguria.it/eco3/DTS_PUBBLICAZIONI/20070625/01_Vegetali.pdf True bertolonii has nearly straight spur while reuteri has hooked spur. I don't made further search about the shape of the leaves between reuteri and bertolonii but it seems that there are some differences (read again http://www.floraitaliae.actaplantarum.org/viewtopic.php?t=1065  )
It is also to mention that A. einseleana and bertolonii are together and well differentiated from other european aquilegia in the phylogeny made by Fior (2013) https://www.researchgate.net/publication/235399368_Spatiotemporal_reconstruction_of_the_Aquilegia_rapid_radiation_through_next-generation_sequencing_of_rapidly_evolving_cpDNA_regions Tjhis result is a bit different from what is described  here  http://www.floraitaliae.actaplantarum.org/viewtopic.php?t=1065 where they group einseleana and reuteri.

[Hannelore]

My Aquilegia saximontana from seeds buyed 2013 from Allplains is flowering now. By the my fingers on the second picture you can see how small (and cute)the flower is.

[Hannelore]

There's something I do not understand. I read about Aquilegia that the stamens ripe not at the same time as the ovary so that the flower cannot be pollinated by itself. So I didn't expect seeds from my Aquilegia saximontana because I have only one plant. But after the flowers wilted, there is seed growing. There was no other Aquilegia flower open in my Garden when they flowered. Was my first information wrong? Or is it not valid for Aquilegia saximontana?

If someone wishes to try, I'll send him or her seeds as soon as they fall out.

I also thought about the flowering time - it is said that A. saximontana flowers in July-August. But this is in the mountains high. Spring begins there much later, even in the Alps snow was falling still last week. So flowering season here in the middle of Germany can well be much earlier.

What do you think about that?

Best wishes
Hannelore