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Buckley's goldenrod

Canada goldenrod, Rocky Mountain goldenrod, verge d'or élégante, western Canada goldenrod, western goldenrod

Habit Plants 60–120 cm; caudices thick, woody, roots thick. Plants 25–150 cm; rhizomes short to long creeping, forming few- to many-stemmed clones.
Stems

1–5+, sparsely to moderately short strigose or villous.

1–25 (–50+), erect, proximally glabrous or sparsely to moderately canescent-villous, distally densely so.

Leaves

basal withering by flowering, petiolate, smaller to much smaller than cauline, blades oblanceolate, margins serrate;

cauline sessile, blades elliptic-lanceolate or -oblanceolate, mid 80–140 × 2.5–4 mm, distally reduced, usually membranous, bases tapering, attenuate, margins sharply toothed along much of length to nearly entire, ciliate, abaxial faces short-pilose along small and large nerves, adaxial short-pilose along larger nerves.

basal 0;

proximal cauline sessile, blades narrowly to broadly oblanceolate, 100–150 × 15–23 mm, tapering to bases, margins subentire to coarsely sharply serrate, 3-nerved, sometimes obscurely so, apices acute to acuminate, abaxial faces glabrate to sparsely short villous, adaxial glabrous;

mid to distal cauline sessile, blades lanceolate to narrowly elliptic, (50–)90–120(–150) × (7–) 11–23(–35) mm, largest near mid stem, then somewhat reduced distally in arrays, margins sharply and coarsely to finely serrate or entire, usually becoming less serrate near arrays, faces glabrous or sparsely strigoso-villous, more so along abaxial nerves, distalmost (below arrays) sometimes sparsely to moderately minutely stipitate-glandular.

Peduncles

1–6 mm, moderately canescent;

bracteoles linear to lanceolate.

1–4 mm, villoso-hirtellous, sometimes minutely stipitate-glandular;

bracteoles 0–2, linear-lanceolate, sometimes minutely stipitate-glandular.

Involucres

campanulate, 4.5–5.5 mm.

campanulate, (2–)2.3–3.8(–5) mm.

Ray florets

6–8;

laminae 3–4 × 1–1.5 mm wide.

(7–)10–16(–22);

laminae (0.5–)0.9–1.6(–2.2) × ca. 0.2–0.5 mm.

Disc florets

8–14;

corollas 4–5 mm, lobes ca. 1.5 mm.

(2–)5–9(–13);

corollas ca. (2–) 2.5–3.8(–5) mm, lobes (0.4–)0.6–1(–1.4) mm.

Phyllaries

in ca. 3 series, strongly unequal, erect to slightly squarrose-tipped, lanceolate, apices acute, glabrate, sparsely to moderately, finely stipitate-glandular.

in 3–4 series, deltate-lanceolate, unequal (outer 1/4–1/2 length of inner), margins sparsely villoso-ciliate, sometimes minutely stipitate-glandular apically or basally, apices acute to attenuate, glabrous or sparsely to moderately, minutely stipitate-glandular apically, sometimes over much of faces.

Heads

5–160 (2–10+ more per short branch cluster), in narrowly elongate paniculiform arrays, branches usually 1–6 cm (much longer in damaged plants, sometimes 1–3 proximal branches much elongated in undamaged plants), ascending and bearing short terminal racemiform or paniculiform clusters.

14–800+, in sometimes secund, broadly thyrsiform or secund pyramidal arrays, usually leafy proximally, branches ascending or sometimes arching-spreading, leaves often minutely stipitate-glandular.

Cypselae

(reddish brown) 2–3 mm, glabrous;

pappi 4–5 mm.

(narrowly obconic) 0.6–1.2 mm, strigillose;

pappi 2.5–3.3 mm.

Solidago buckleyi

Solidago lepida

Phenology Flowering Sep.
Habitat Open oak woods, ridges and slopes, bluffs
Elevation 100–300 m (300–1000 ft)
Distribution
from FNA
AR; IL; IN; KY; MO
[WildflowerSearch map]
[BONAP county map]
from FNA
AK; AZ; CA; CO; ID; MT; NM; NV; UT; WA; WY; AB; BC; MB; NB; NF; NT; ON; QC; SK; YT
[WildflowerSearch map]
[BONAP county map]
Discussion

Solidago buckleyi is an uncommon species of mesic woods, most variable in the size and number of teeth on the large mid cauline leaves. Once seen, usually it is not easily confused with S. petiolaris. Reports from farther east are for plants of S. petiolaris.

(Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.)

Subspecies 2 (2 in the flora).

Solidago lepida is the only member of subsect. Triplinerviae that is nearly always minutely, sometimes sparsely, stipitate-glandular in the arrays. These glands can be very small and visible only with 30–70× magnification. The enlarged head of the stalked gland may be little bigger than a pollen grain. The species occurs in the west from the Aleutian Islands and central Alaska south just into northern California, and in the Rocky Mountains to Arizona and New Mexico. Its range extends across Canada to Newfoundland, the Gaspé (Quebec), and northern New Brunswick. It also appears to be introduced at scattered locations across the Canadian prairies.

(Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.)

Key
1. Distal cauline leaves usually with 6–8 teeth per side; phyllaries very sparsely, minutely stipitate-glandular along proximal margins; e Canada (Solidago lepida subsp. fallax)
subsp. fallax
1. Distal cauline leaves usually with 0–6 teeth per side (plants of w mountains in United States sometimes more serrate); phyllaries, peduncles, peduncle bracts and/or distalmost cauline leaves sparsely to moderately, minutely stipitate-glandular; mountains, Alaska to Arizona and New Mexico, and across Canada, scattered eastward to the Gaspé, Quebec (S. lepida subsp. lepida)
→ 2
2. Heads in thyrsiform arrays, proximal branches ascending; much of range
var. lepida
2. Heads in pyramidal paniculiform arrays, proximal branches arching to recurved; Rocky Mountains and Cascade Mountains, Alberta and British Columbia to California, Arizona, New Mexico
var. salebrosa
Source FNA vol. 20, p. 118. FNA vol. 20, p. 155.
Parent taxa Asteraceae > tribe Astereae > Solidago > sect. Solidago > subsect. Thyrsiflorae Asteraceae > tribe Astereae > Solidago > sect. Solidago > subsect. Triplinerviae
Sibling taxa
S. albopilosa, S. altiplanities, S. altissima, S. arenicola, S. arguta, S. auriculata, S. bicolor, S. brachyphylla, S. caesia, S. canadensis, S. confinis, S. curtisii, S. delicatula, S. drummondii, S. elongata, S. erecta, S. faucibus, S. fistulosa, S. flexicaulis, S. gattingeri, S. gigantea, S. glomerata, S. guiradonis, S. hispida, S. houghtonii, S. juliae, S. juncea, S. kralii, S. lancifolia, S. latissimifolia, S. leavenworthii, S. leiocarpa, S. lepida, S. ludoviciana, S. macrophylla, S. missouriensis, S. mollis, S. multiradiata, S. nana, S. nemoralis, S. nitida, S. odora, S. ohioensis, S. ouachitensis, S. patula, S. petiolaris, S. pinetorum, S. plumosa, S. ptarmicoides, S. puberula, S. pulchra, S. radula, S. riddellii, S. rigida, S. roanensis, S. rugosa, S. rupestris, S. sciaphila, S. sempervirens, S. shortii, S. simplex, S. spathulata, S. speciosa, S. spectabilis, S. sphacelata, S. spithamaea, S. squarrosa, S. stricta, S. tarda, S. tortifolia, S. uliginosa, S. ulmifolia, S. velutina, S. verna, S. villosicarpa, S. wrightii
S. albopilosa, S. altiplanities, S. altissima, S. arenicola, S. arguta, S. auriculata, S. bicolor, S. brachyphylla, S. buckleyi, S. caesia, S. canadensis, S. confinis, S. curtisii, S. delicatula, S. drummondii, S. elongata, S. erecta, S. faucibus, S. fistulosa, S. flexicaulis, S. gattingeri, S. gigantea, S. glomerata, S. guiradonis, S. hispida, S. houghtonii, S. juliae, S. juncea, S. kralii, S. lancifolia, S. latissimifolia, S. leavenworthii, S. leiocarpa, S. ludoviciana, S. macrophylla, S. missouriensis, S. mollis, S. multiradiata, S. nana, S. nemoralis, S. nitida, S. odora, S. ohioensis, S. ouachitensis, S. patula, S. petiolaris, S. pinetorum, S. plumosa, S. ptarmicoides, S. puberula, S. pulchra, S. radula, S. riddellii, S. rigida, S. roanensis, S. rugosa, S. rupestris, S. sciaphila, S. sempervirens, S. shortii, S. simplex, S. spathulata, S. speciosa, S. spectabilis, S. sphacelata, S. spithamaea, S. squarrosa, S. stricta, S. tarda, S. tortifolia, S. uliginosa, S. ulmifolia, S. velutina, S. verna, S. villosicarpa, S. wrightii
Subordinate taxa
S. lepida subsp. fallax, S. lepida var. lepida, S. lepida var. salebrosa
Synonyms Aster buckleyi Aster lepidus, S. canadensis var. lepida
Name authority Torrey & A. Gray: Fl. N. Amer. 2: 198. (1842) de Candolle: in A. P. de Candolle and A. L. P. P. de Candolle, Prodr. 5: 339. (1836)
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