Since joining this group, I have not noticed any suggestions that hybridisation MIGHT be a complicating factor in any genus IN THE WILD?  The only mention of hybrids I can quickly locate is for cultivated plants.

There are only 4 species of Aquilegia recorded from the Himalaya, so one might imagine it would be straightforward to distinguish between them.   That has not been the case.

I still find some specimens, especially those in the Trans-Himalaya, difficult to be certain about.  Are they A.fragrans or A.moorcroftiana?   A.pubiflora and A.nivalis do not have many, if any records from these districts, so it is usually a choice between these.

But what about hybridisation, where populations overlap?   Could this be a complicating factor.

Aquilegia cross readily in cultivation their 'promiscuity' being well-known, ending up with all sorts of mixtures. Aquilegia fragrans has been introduced in cultivation a number of times but very soon, seed offered e.g. in Seed Exchanges under this name can rapidly bear little resemblance to the genuine/ true species!

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