Spermatophytes (seed plants): Angiosperms (flowering plants): Eudicots: Core Eudicots: Asterids: Campanulids: Asterales
WEAKLEY'S FLORA OF THE SOUTHEASTERN US (4/24/22):
Solidago flexicaulis
FAMILY
Asteraceae
Go to FSUS key
Dig deeper at SERNEC, a consortium of southeastern herbaria.
Zigzag Goldenrod is distinctive in its somewhat zigzag stem and basal and lower stem leaves ovate, sharply toothed, taper-pointed, and wing-stemmed. S. flaccidifolia is similar but has somewhat narrower leaves and the stem is straight. Read more at Vascular Plants of North Carolina.
SYNONYMOUS WITH
PLANTS NATIONAL DATABASE:
Solidago flexicaulis
FAMILY
Asteraceae
SYNONYMOUS WITH Vascular flora of Illinois (Mohlenbrock, 2014)
Solidago flexicaulis
SYNONYMOUS WITH Flora of North America north of Mexico, vol. 19-20-21 (2006)
Solidago flexicaulis
SYNONYMOUS WITH VASCULAR FLORA OF THE CAROLINAS (Radford, Ahles, & Bell, 1968) 179-49-003:
Solidago flexicaulis FAMILY Asteraceae
SYNONYMOUS WITH Manual of the Southeastern Flora (Small, 1933, 1938)
Solidago flexicaulis
COMMON NAME:
Zigzag Goldenrod, Broadleaf Goldenrod
To see larger pictures, click or hover over the thumbnails.
)
USDA-NRCS PLANTS Database / Britton, N.L., and A. Brown. 1913 pnd_sofl2_001_lvd
)
USDA-NRCS PLANTS Database / USDA Wetland flora: Field office illustrated guide pnd_sofl2_003_lvd
)
JK Marlow jkm090405_033
April Walker County GA
The Pocket on Pigeon Mountain
Leaf blades ovate, seldom more than twice as long as wide, per Wildflowers of the Southern Mountains (Smith, 1998).
)
JK Marlow jkm090405_033b
April Walker County GA
The Pocket on Pigeon Mountain
Teeth of the leaf margins elongate and narrow, acuminate, per Weakley's Flora.
)
JK Marlow jkm090405_033c
April Walker County GA
The Pocket on Pigeon Mountain
Leaves abruptly contracted to a winged petiole, per Weakley's Flora.
)
JK Marlow jkm160505_567
May Jackson County NC
)
JK Marlow jkm160516_743
May Haywood County NC
Corneille Bryan Native Garden
)
JK Marlow jkm121007_406
October Wythe County VA
New River Trail
Flower heads in small, short-stalked clusters in the well-spaced upper axils, per Wildflowers of the Southern Mountains (Smith, 1998).
)
JK Marlow jkm121007_413
October Wythe County VA
New River Trail
Has an angled, conspicuously zigzag stem and widely spaced leaves, per Wildflowers of the Southern Mountains (Smith, 1998).
)
JK Marlow jkm121007_417
October Wythe County VA
New River Trail
)
Richard and Teresa Ware rtw_s_flexicaulis_2
October
WEAKLEY'S FLORA OF THE SOUTHEASTERN US (4/24/22):
Solidago flexicaulis
FAMILY
Asteraceae
SYNONYMOUS WITH
PLANTS NATIONAL DATABASE:
Solidago flexicaulis
FAMILY
Asteraceae
SYNONYMOUS WITH
Vascular flora of Illinois (Mohlenbrock, 2014)
Solidago flexicaulis
SYNONYMOUS WITH
Flora of North America north of Mexico, vol. 19-20-21
Solidago flexicaulis
SYNONYMOUS WITH
VASCULAR FLORA OF THE CAROLINAS (Radford, Ahles, & Bell, 1968) 179-49-003:
Solidago flexicaulis
FAMILY
Asteraceae
SYNONYMOUS WITH
Manual of the Southeastern Flora (Small, 1933, 1938)
Solidago flexicaulis
1420
Forb
Perennial
Habitat: Moist wooded slopes, especially over calcareous or mafic rocks, per Weakley's Flora
Native to North Carolina & Georgia
Common in Mountains, rare in Piedmont
CLICK HERE to see a map, notes, and images from Weakley's Flora of the Southeastern US.
LEAVES:
Simple
Midstem leaves not 3-nerved
Leaves chiefly on the stem (basal & lower stem leaves either withering early or equal/smaller than middle & upper stem leaves)
Alternate & basal rosette
Leaves have petioles.
FLOWER:
Summer/Fall
Rays: Yellow
Disc: Yellow
Inferior ovary
Disc flowers bisexual & fertile/ Ray flowers pistillate & fertile
Flower heads in axillary clusters, with well-developed leaves in at least the lower part of the inflorescence
FRUIT:
Summer/Fall
Achene
TO LEARN MORE about this plant, look it up in a good book!
- All About South Carolina Wildflowers (Midgley, 1999) p263
- Gardening with Native Plants of the South (Wasowski & Wasowski, 1994, 2020) p143
- Gardening with the Native Plants of Tennessee (Hunter, 2002) p174
- Guide to the Wildflowers of SC, 2nd ed. (McMillan, Porcher, Rayner, & White; 2022) p150
- Newcomb's Wildflower Guide (Newcomb, 1977) p450
- Wildflowers of the Atlantic Southeast (Cotterman, Waitt, & Weakley, 2019) p291
- Wildflowers of Tennessee (Carman, 2005) p328
- Wildflowers of Tennessee, the Ohio Valley, and the Southern Appalachians (Horn, Cathcart, Hemmerly, & Duhl, 2005) p379
- Wildflowers of the Southern Mountains (Smith, 1998) p202
If a search such as "Carex leptalea var. leptalea" doesn't deliver the results you want, try "Carex leptalea".
Or, to minimize chances of a misspelling, try just "Carex le".
Less is more: If "pencil flower" doesn't deliver the results you want, try "pencil".