Spermatophytes (seed plants): Angiosperms (flowering plants): Eudicots: Core Eudicots: Asterids: Campanulids: Asterales
WEAKLEY'S FLORA OF THE SOUTHEASTERN US (4/24/22):
Solidago speciosa
FAMILY
Asteraceae
Go to FSUS key
Dig deeper at SERNEC, a consortium of southeastern herbaria.
Stems and leaves are smooth. In the field this looks like S. erecta, but is taller, with broader, more crowded, and showier inflorescences. Read more at Vascular Plants of North Carolina.
SYNONYMOUS WITH
PLANTS NATIONAL DATABASE:
Solidago speciosa var. speciosa
FAMILY
Asteraceae
SYNONYMOUS WITH Vascular flora of Illinois (Mohlenbrock, 2014)
Solidago speciosa
SYNONYMOUS WITH Flora of North America north of Mexico, vol. 19-20-21 (2006)
Solidago speciosa ssp. speciosa var. speciosa
INCLUDED WITHIN VASCULAR FLORA OF THE CAROLINAS (Radford, Ahles, & Bell, 1968) 179-49-012:
Solidago speciosa FAMILY Asteraceae
INCLUDING Manual of the Southeastern Flora (Small, 1933, 1938)
Solidago conferta
INCLUDING Manual of the Southeastern Flora (Small, 1933, 1938)
Solidago harperi
COMMON NAME:
Showy Goldenrod, Noble Goldenrod
To see larger pictures, click or hover over the thumbnails.
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JK Marlow jkm210406_9142
April Greenville County SC
Blackwell Heritage Preserve
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JK Marlow jkm210408_9315
April Greenville County SC
Blackwell Heritage Preserve
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JK Marlow jkm210413_9520
April Greenville County SC
Blackwell Heritage Preserve
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JK Marlow jkm210413_9522
April Greenville County SC
Blackwell Heritage Preserve
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JK Marlow jkm210507_0030
May Greenville County SC
Blackwell Heritage Preserve
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JK Marlow jkm230619_4105
June Greenville County SC
Blackwell Heritage Preserve
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JK Marlow jkm210709_1949
July Greenville County SC
Blackwell Heritage Preserve
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JK Marlow jkm210709_1950
July Greenville County SC
Blackwell Heritage Preserve
)
JK Marlow jkm210709_1954
July Greenville County SC
Blackwell Heritage Preserve
The smooth central stem can be green or reddish, per www.illinoiswildflowers.info.
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JK Marlow jkm210709_1956
July Greenville County SC
Blackwell Heritage Preserve
)
JK Marlow jkm210709_2027
July Greenville County SC
Blackwell Heritage Preserve
Basal and lower stem leaves larger, petiolate, and usually persistent, per Weakley's Flora (2020).
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JK Marlow jkm210709_2028
July Greenville County SC
Blackwell Heritage Preserve
)
JK Marlow jkm211002_3978
October Greenville County SC
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JK Marlow jkm211002_3981
October Greenville County SC
Basal and proximal stem leaves tapering to winged petioles, per Flora of North America.
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JK Marlow jkm211002_3984
October Greenville County SC
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JK Marlow jkm211002_3985
October Greenville County SC
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JK Marlow jkm211002_3988
October Greenville County SC
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JK Marlow jkm211009_4114
October Greenville County SC
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JK Marlow jkm211009_4118
October Greenville County SC
)
JK Marlow jkm211009_4120
October Greenville County SC
)
JK Marlow jkm211009_4121
October Greenville County SC
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JK Marlow jkm211009_4130
October Greenville County SC
Inflorescence branches are held erect or curve upward (not outward/downward), per www.illinoiswildflowers.info.
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JK Marlow jkm211009_4132
October Greenville County SC
Stems are erect, glabrous proximally to strigillose in the floral arrays, per Flora of North America.
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JK Marlow jkm211009_4134
October Greenville County SC
The spacing of the ray florets tends to be irregular, per www.illinoiswildflowers.info.
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JK Marlow jkm211009_4136
October Greenville County SC
Phyllaries in 3-4 series, appressed, strongly unequal, glabrous, per Flora of North America.
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JK Marlow jkm211009_4139
October Greenville County SC
)
JK Marlow jkm211009_4143
October Greenville County SC
)
JK Marlow jkm211009_4147
October Greenville County SC
There are often small leaves that develop from upper axils of primary leaves, per www.illinoiswildflowers.info.
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JK Marlow jkm211012_4228
October Greenville County SC
Blackwell Heritage Preserve
)
JK Marlow jkm211012_4233
October Greenville County SC
Blackwell Heritage Preserve
When a stand is seen, in bloom, it is a quite spectacular sight, per Vascular Plants of North Carolina.
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JK Marlow jkm211012_4235
October Greenville County SC
Blackwell Heritage Preserve
)
JK Marlow jkm211012_4236
October Greenville County SC
Blackwell Heritage Preserve
Inflorescence commonly with rather crowded, stiffly ascending branches, per Manual of Vascular Plants of NE US & Adjacent Canada (Gleason & Cronquist, 1991).
WEAKLEY'S FLORA OF THE SOUTHEASTERN US (4/24/22):
Solidago speciosa
FAMILY
Asteraceae
SYNONYMOUS WITH
PLANTS NATIONAL DATABASE:
Solidago speciosa var. speciosa
FAMILY
Asteraceae
SYNONYMOUS WITH
Vascular flora of Illinois (Mohlenbrock, 2014)
Solidago speciosa
SYNONYMOUS WITH
Flora of North America north of Mexico, vol. 19-20-21
Solidago speciosa ssp. speciosa var. speciosa
INCLUDED WITHIN
VASCULAR FLORA OF THE CAROLINAS (Radford, Ahles, & Bell, 1968) 179-49-012:
Solidago speciosa
FAMILY
Asteraceae
INCLUDING
Manual of the Southeastern Flora (Small, 1933, 1938)
Solidago conferta
INCLUDING
Manual of the Southeastern Flora (Small, 1933, 1938)
Solidago harperi
1433
Forb
Perennial
Habitat: Pastures, forests, woodlands, roadbanks, per Weakley's Flora
Native to the Carolinas & Georgia
Uncommon (rare in Coastal Plain) (rare in GA 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 basally disposed (basal & lower stem leaves larger, petiolate, & usually persistent); middle and upper stem leaves smaller & less petiolate
Alternate & basal (basal usually present at flowering)
FLOWER:
Summer/Fall
Rays: Yellow
Disc: Yellow
Inferior ovary
Disc flowers bisexual & fertile/ Ray flowers pistillate & fertile
Flower heads in elongate cylindrical inflorescences (panicle-like), sometimes with branches resembling S. erecta but ultimately stiffly ascending
FRUIT:
Summer/Fall
Achene
TO LEARN MORE about this plant, look it up in a good book!
- Gardening with Native Plants of the South (Wasowski & Wasowski, 1994, 2020) p170
- Gardening with the Native Plants of Tennessee (Hunter, 2002) p175
- Newcomb's Wildflower Guide (Newcomb, 1977) p452
- Wildflowers of Tennessee, the Ohio Valley, and the Southern Appalachians (Horn, Cathcart, Hemmerly, & Duhl, 2005) p382
- Wildflowers of the Southern Mountains (Smith, 1998) p203
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