One of my favorite columbines came to me from an HPS/MAG seed exchange many years ago. It was donated several years in a row by renowned gardener Charles Cresson, who stated that it "came from Malcolm Whipple's Long Island garden in the early 1980s. No information about origin before that". It comes true from seed (for several generations now), even though individual plants are short-lived. The name "Cap de rositier" (besides being improper French) doesn't appear anywhere on the web except on my website and in a book "Hatch's Perennials: Acanthus to Aurinia: Version 3.1". Is there a name for this variety that is more commonly used?

There is a 'Cap de Rossiter' mentioned in several places. Does it match the description of that one.

I found a few mentions. Just basic info: Aquilegia vulgaris 'Cap de Rossiter', Pink/White Dahlia like. 2'-3' tall.

http://pss.uvm.edu/pss123/pera...

https://books.google.com/books...

Well, the Armitage book is certainly the most authoritative resource I've come across - and he appears to describe the plants I've grown through the years. I guess that will have to be good enough

It is described as two to three feet tall, "persistent" , what does that mean?

http://www.plant-and-flower-gu...

Seedfork said:It is described as two to three feet tall, "persistent" , what does that mean?

In botany it typically means bits that don't fall off or die back but I don't think that's what it means in this case. In horticulture it can also mean persists as a plant in the garden. Aquilegia are considered to often be short-lived perennials, so I would imagine in this case it either means the cultivar lives longer than other columbines as an individual plant, or it self seeds true, so that you continue to have it but not the original individual plant. From Rob's earlier comment the latter would seem more likely to fit.

BTW the Royal Horticultural Society also recognizes a 'Cap de Rossiter':
https://www.rhs.org.uk/Plants/...

I did a web search and realized that "flowers are persistent" means the flowers stay on the plant for a long time. I think that is what was meant by "persistent".

Seedfork said:I did a web search and realized that "flowers are persistent" means the flowers stay on the plant for a long time. I think that is what was meant by "persistent".

Yes, if it specifies that it is the flowers that are persistent it would come in my above category of bits not falling off (which can also happen with just parts of flowers, or other parts of a plant). I wouldn't expect columbine flowers to be as persistent as, say, orchid flowers. It most likely just means that they stay on the plant longer than the average number of days for a columbine, or that they persist longer than is strictly necessary for pollination.

So I would think that might help ID the plant if the flowers on it tend to stay on for a long period of time compared to other columbine.