Aquilegia chrysantha, the golden columbine, is a perennial herbaceous flowering plant native to the southwestern United States and northwestern Mexico.

Both wild and cultivated A. chrysantha, known for their large flowers, require moist and well-drained soil.

[6] A. chrysantha is similar to the also yellow Aquilegia flavescens but the former is more resistant to droughts and blooms longer.

[6] In the variety hinckleyana, leaves grow into two parts and pedal blades range between only 2 centimetres (0.79 in) long and 16 millimetres (0.63 in) wide.

[6] In wild specimens observed in southern Arizona during May and June 1980, plants generally exhibited a faint scent.

[9] A. chrysantha belongs to a likely monophyletic group with the other North American columbine species, which diverged from their closest relatives in East Asia in the mid-Pliocene around 3.8 million years ago.

[4]: 75 The closely related Aquilegia chaplinei is considered a dwarf version of A. chrysantha that is better suited to arid environments.

Lott's proposal came out of her study of plants in the Chihuahuan Desert, stemming from her 1979 unpublished master's thesis on Aquilegia in the Trans-Pecos region of Texas.

This research identified a gene named POPVICH (POP) as responsible for cell proliferation during the early stage of spur development.

POP appeared at higher levels in the pedals of the spurred Aquilegia studied than those of the spurless A.

[2] The population of A. chrysantha in south-central Colorado is unusually disjunct from the rest of the species's range.

Meehan theorized that their rapid spread was partially due to the increased human habitation of the area altering environmental circumstance.

[4]: 75 A. chrysantha succeeds well in a variety of soils when provided adequate moisture, drainage, and shade.

[4]: 76  The cultivar 'Yellow Queen' has gained the Royal Horticultural Society's Award of Garden Merit.

[4]: 76  Yellow Queen plants prefer moist, well-drained soil of clay, sand, or loam.

[3] Crosses A. coerulea and A. chrysantha – and possibly A. formosa for the addition of red – are considered the most valuable hybrids.

[2] As of October 2024[update], NatureServe did not give a worldwide or United States-wide conservation status for A. chrysantha.