Aquilegia alpina, often called the alpine columbine or breath of God,[5] is a perennial species of flowering plant in the family Ranunculaceae, native to the western and central Alps.

[4] Though rare in its Swiss, Austrian, and Italian range, it is commonly found in the French Maritime Alps.

Among these species, nectar spur length varies little and there is no evidence of evolution to exploit hawkmoth pollination.

A 2007 study by Justen B. Whittall and Scott A. Hodges attributed this discrepancy in nectar spur length between Eurasian and North American Aquilegia species despite the presence of hawkmoths in both ranges to the absence of hummingbirds in Eurasia.

Whittall and Hodges theorized that hummingbirds served as a "stepping stone" to nectar spur elongation adapted to hawkmoth pollination.

[5] The species is native to subalpine[3] regions of France, Switzerland, Austria, and Italy,[4] at altitudes from 1,300–1,900 m (4,300–6,200 ft),[14] typically in rocky areas and stony pastures[10] with carbonate bedrock.

[15] In the subalpine meadows of southwestern Switzerland, Austria, and northwestern Italy, the plant is rare.

[8] Hybrid A. alpina with hooked nectar spurs that were cultivated in the United States have been observed being foraged by the moth species Hemaris thysbe.

[1] In Switzerland, it is listed as fully protected in the Bern, Glarus, Grisons, Obwalden, Ticino, and Uri cantons.

[9]: 87  Most plants sold as A alpina are instead crosses between multiple Aquilegia species, a phenomenon common across the genus and the result of hundreds of years of cultivation.