Phenotypic Variation across the Distribution
We sampled twenty populations of the A. viridiflora complex with
various phenotypes that covered its entire distribution (Figure 1A and
Table S1). The phenotypes of A. viridiflora complex populations
grown in common gardens were investigated and compared, and each
phenotype differed significantly among different populations by using
ANOVA (Table 1). K-means cluster analysis was used to visualize the
phenotypic variation among populations and identified two distinctive
groups. Dim1 and Dim2 could explain 76.6% and 19.5% of the observed
variation, respectively, and the cumulative contribution to the observed
phenotypic variation was 96.1%. All individuals of Aquilegia
viridiflora and A. kamelinii were found in Cluster 1, while
individuals of A. hebeica were found in Cluster 2 (Figure 1A and
S2A). There was a significantly negative correlation coefficient between
some floral characteristics, including corolla length, petal length,
spur length and pistil length, and the nutritional traits, including
leaf area, leaf perimeter and height. In addition, the number of
inflorescences was significantly negatively correlated with the above
floral characteristics, while it was significantly positively correlated
with the plant height (Figure S3).