[2]: 47–48 [1] Despite the genus encompassing a relatively small number of taxa, there has been significant disagreement among taxonomic authorities regarding how many Paraquilegia species there are and what they are named.

The seeds frequently require at least two years to germinate, producing small seedlings that were described as "columbines dancing on the head of a pin" by American botanist and gardener Robert Nold.

[2]: 48–50 In 1920, British botanists James Ramsay Drummond and John Hutchinson published a paper, "A Revision of Isopyrum (Ranunculaceae) and Its Nearer Allies", in the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew's Bulletin of Miscellaneous Information to address problems that had developed within the genus Isopyrum.

[2]: 46 In proposing Paraquilegia, Drummond and Hutchinson sought to segregate Central Asian Isopyrum with features similar to those of Aquilegia.

[6] Contrary to what the genus's name suggests, Paraquilegia is more closely related to several Ranunculaceae genera native to Asia other than Aquilegia.

According to Nold, "the most notable thing" about the genus was how "serious rock gardeners" spoke of the Paraquilegia, in "hushed and awed voices".