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Pictured: Aquilegia chrysantha — the species. This variety isn’t separately illustrated.
Ranunculaceae family

Rydberg's Golden Columbine (var. rydbergii) Aquilegia chrysantha var. rydbergii variety

Native

Rydberg's Golden Columbine (var. rydbergii) is a perennial wildflower native to the lower 48 states.

More about this plant

Aquilegia chrysantha, the golden columbine, is a perennial herbaceous flowering plant native to the southwestern United States and northwestern Mexico. The plant, with a height of between 40 centimetres (16 in) and 120 centimetres (47 in), has yellow flowers. A. chrysantha. as with other members of the Aquilegia coerulea species complex, is evolved for pollination by hawkmoth. It favors moist environments in its mountainous range. Wikipedia →

Growing & care

USDA PLANTS · TRY
Conditions
Sources · Conditions
Cold hardiness (derived) — Hardiness
Hardiness
≥ zone 7 derived from its U.S. range
Size & form
Sources · Size & form
USDA PLANTS — Lifespan
Lifespan
Perennial
In the garden
Herb layer — Sits in the herb of a layered food forest or polyculture.Open guide →
derived roles
Species characteristics from USDA PLANTS (public domain) + TRY (CC BY) — general guidance, not a guarantee for your exact site. Deer "browsing" is documented palatability, not a deer-proof claim.

Wildlife & pollinators

How pollinator value is scored →
❧ Caterpillar hosts ~12 caterpillar species

Aquilegia supports ~12 caterpillar species.

Native butterfly & moth caterpillars are the base of the terrestrial food web — most songbirds rear their young almost entirely on them. As a host for native Lepidoptera this is a moderate genus.

Recorded feeding on Aquilegia in North America, including:

Acleris albicomana · Red-Edged Acleris Aethalura intertexta · Four-Barred Gray Amphipyra tragopoginis · Mouse Moth Argyrotaenia citrana · leafroller moth Ectropis crepuscularia · Small Engrailed Eosphoropteryx thyatyroides · Pink-Patched Looper Moth
+ 8 more species →
Erynnis baptisiae · Wild Indigo Duskywing Erynnis lucilius · Columbine Duskywing Heliothis virescens · Tobacco Budworm Papaipema leucostigma · Columbine Borer Moth Papaipema rutila · Mayapple Borer Moth Papaipema sauzalitae · owlet moth Pyrrhia exprimens · Purple-Lined Sallow Pyrrhia umbra · Bordered Sallow
Keystone count (genus-level) from Warren II 2026 (CC0) · Tallamy host-use records. Named species (a documented Nearctic sample, not exhaustive) from NHM HOSTS (CC0).
Species thumbnails re-hosted from iNaturalist — Creative Commons, credited per image (hover for credit). Click any species to see it on iNaturalist. Not exhaustive; many taxa have no openly-licensed photo yet.
Sources for this entry (11) Open & cited
[01] Scientific name & family — USDA PLANTS (DwCA, Zenodo 17903503)
[02] Growth habit & duration — USDA PLANTS (DwCA, Zenodo 17903503)
[03] Native status & distribution — USDA PLANTS (DwCA, Zenodo 17903503)
[04] Common name — USDA PLANTS (via GBIF)
[05] Invasive / introduced status — USDA PLANTS (DwCA, Zenodo 17903503) — native status
[06] Description — Wikipedia (CC BY-SA)
[07] Ecological value — Warren II 2026 (CC0) · Tallamy host-use counts
[08] Cold hardiness (derived) — Derived from U.S. range × USDA PHZM zones
[09] Caterpillar host count — Warren II 2026 (Dryad, CC0) · Tallamy host-use counts
[10] Caterpillar species — NHM HOSTS (CC0)
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