Aquilegia shockleyi

 Aquilegia shockleyi, Desert Columbine flowers are red-yellow, and the foliage is similar to formosa but more gray and with triple-divided leaves. This columbine is native to the upper Mojave Desert mountains, East side of the Sierras, through the White Mountains, to the Nevada border.  This Columbine is much more tolerant of alkaline soils.

Aquilegia shockleyi appears  grayer than the other Aquilegia species. Use the gray in a moist garden for contrast or for transition from a moist garden to a sunny, dry garden. Desert Columbine is associated with Salix exigua, Oenothera caespitosa and Rosa woodsii ultramontana. This species grows naturally in seeps, along creeks and seasonal wet spots under Quaking Aspens, Canyon Live Oak, Pinyon pines, Cowania, and in open meadows. Sometimes you can find it on limestone walls of the canyons. 

In our area, swallowtails visit this plant for the rich flower nectar.