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Rocky Mountain goldenrod, western goldenrod

Habit Plants 2–15 dm; rhizomatous.
Stems

simple or branched, densely puberulent, often glabrate proximally.

Leaves

cauline;

blades broadly to narrowly oblanceolate or elliptic, 4–15 cm;

margins entire to denticulate or serrulate;

tips acute;

surfaces glabrous to sparsely villous;

distal leaves sometimes minutely glandular, sessile or short-petioled.

Inflorescences

thyrse-like or pyramidal arrays;

bracts generally present above lower 1–3 nodes, reduced distally.

Involucres

campanulate, 2–5 mm.

Ray florets

7–20.

Disc florets

2–13;

corollas 2–5 mm.

Phyllaries

in 3–5 series, linear-lanceolate;

surfaces glabrous or minutely glandular; outer gradually shorter.

Fruits

0.5–1.2 mm, strigillose.

Heads

sessile to short- or long-pedunculate.

2n

=18, 36, 54.

Solidago buckleyi

Solidago lepida

Distribution
[WildflowerSearch map]
[BONAP county map]
[WildflowerSearch map]
[BONAP county map]
Discussion

Forests, open woods, meadows, pastures, bogs, marshes, riverbanks. Flowering Jun–Oct. 0–2000 m. All ecoregions. CA, ID, NV, WA; throughout Canada and western US. Native.

In Oregon, varieties lepida and salebrosa are not geographically or ecologically separate and show a blending of morphology. Here they are merged into the species S. lepida.

Source Flora of Oregon, volume 2, page 345
Kenton Chambers
Sibling taxa
S. elongata, S. gigantea, S. lepida, S. missouriensis, S. multiradiata, S. simplex, S. spathulata, S. spectabilis, S. velutina
S. elongata, S. gigantea, S. missouriensis, S. multiradiata, S. simplex, S. spathulata, S. spectabilis, S. velutina
Synonyms Solidago canadensis, Solidago canadensis ssp. salebrosa, Solidago canadensis var. salebrosa, Solidago lepida var. lepida, Solidago lepida var. salebrosa
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