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Aquilegia is a genus of perennial flowering plants commonly known as columbines. Part of the buttercup family, Aquilegia contains between 70 and 400 described species and subspecies with natural ranges across the Northern Hemisphere. Aquilegia first evolved in Asia, with natural and introduced populations present on all continents except Antarctica. The flowers of most columbines feature nectar spurs; variation in the length of spurs, alongside other flower attributes, evolved to attract pollinators. Popular as garden plants, columbines may have first entered cultivation 1,700 years ago. Their high physical variability and ease of hybridization has resulted in the development of many cultivated varieties. Several cultures have used columbines for medicinal purposes. Columbines have also taken on symbolic connotations: the horn-like shape of the nectar spurs has resulted in associations with cuckoldry, while the species Aquilegia coerulea (pictured) is the state flower of Colorado. (Full article...)
Did you know ...
- ... that John A. Manke (pictured) was the first person to achieve supersonic speed in a lifting-body aircraft?
- ... that the announcement of Werewolf Gorge, an upcoming roller coaster at Six Flags Fiesta Texas, was timed to coincide with the rising of a blue moon?
- ... that one of archivist Jessy Randall's poems was added to the side of sanitation trucks in Sydney?
- ... that Ives's Overture in G minor has been described as "hardly recognisable as the work of Ives"?
- ... that the bird keeper of Duck Island Cottage was also tasked with maintaining bomb-disposal equipment?
- ... that Indonesian diplomat Abdullah Kamil was detained by Dutch, and later British, colonial authorities?
- ... that The Boy at the Back of the Class was described as "a nightmare to adapt for the stage"?
- ... that strontium in human teeth found at Barsinia matched that of local rodents, indicating that its inhabitants did not marry outsiders?
- ... that a church in San Francisco begins weekly services by sounding a conch shell?
In the news
- Sixty thousand migrants cross the Morocco–Spain border at Ceuta, leading to at least fifty-seven deaths.
- A magnitude 6.8 earthquake (damage pictured) strikes Kumamoto Prefecture, Japan, leaving at least 36 people dead.
- In Gaelic football, the All-Ireland Senior Football Championship concludes with Mayo defeating Kerry in the final.
- In cycling, Tadej Pogačar wins the Tour de France.
On this day
August 1: Emancipation Day in former British colonies; Lughnasadh in the Northern Hemisphere; Buwan ng Wika begins in the Philippines; PLA Day in China (1927)
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- 527 – Upon the death of Justin I, his nephew and adopted son Justinian I became the sole ruler of the Byzantine Empire.
- 1814 – Britain celebrated the Grand Jubilee to mark 100 years since the accession of George I and 16 years since the start of the Battle of the Nile.
- 1971 – The Concert for Bangladesh, a pair of benefit concerts organised by George Harrison and Ravi Shankar for refugees of the Bangladesh genocide, took place at Madison Square Garden in New York.
- 2004 – Nearly 400 people died in a supermarket fire in Asunción, Paraguay, when exits were locked to prevent people from stealing merchandise.
- 2007 – Bridge 9340, carrying Interstate 35W across the Mississippi River in Minneapolis, United States, suffered a catastrophic failure and collapsed (aftermath pictured), killing 13 people and injuring 145 others.
- Andrew Melville (b. 1545)
- Helen Sawyer Hogg (b. 1905)
- Frances Farmer (d. 1970)
- Lolita Lebrón (d. 2010)
Today's featured picture
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Hendrick Goltzius (1558–1617) was a German-born Dutch printmaker, draftsman and painter, associated with Northern Mannerism and noted for his use of the burin. He has been described as the leading Dutch engraver of the early Baroque period. Trained by Dirck Coornhert, he had an unusual drawing style due to a childhood hand injury. He spent most of his career in Haarlem. Goltzius produced this self-portrait, dating from around 1593–1594, with chalk, pen, grey ink and watercolours. The portrait is in the collection of the Albertina in Vienna, Austria. Illustration credit: Hendrick Goltzius
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