Aquilegia rockii

Aquilegia rockii grows to between 40 and 80 cm (16 and 31 in) tall, with branching, pubescent stems and biternate basal leaves. The plant produces nodding blue or purple flowers 3.5 to 4 cm (1.4 to 1.6 in) in diameter, with sepals of 2–3 cm (0.79–1.18 in) length and petals measuring 1–1.5 cm (0.39–0.59 in). The nectar spurs are straight or slightly incurved and vary strikingly in length, from 1 mm to 20 mm. The stamens are shorter than the petals. The chloroplast genome of Aquilegia rockii has been fully sequenced. It has a total length of 162,123 base pairs, and contains 117 unique genes.

The species is native to southwestern Sichuan, northeastern Yunnan, and southeastern Tibet, where it grows in mixed forests at altitudes of 2,500–3,500 m (8,200–11,500 ft).

Aquilegia rockii flowers from June to August. It is primarily pollinated by bumblebees.

The specific epithet rockii honours the Austrian-American botanist Joseph Rock (1884–1962), who collected the type specimen from which the species was described.