Flora of North America species comparison

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Solidago ptarmicoides

prairie goldenrod, upland white aster, verge-d'or faux-ptarmica, white flat-top goldenrod
Habit Plants 10–40 cm; caudices branching; vascular bundles and petiole bases marcescent (attached to old stems for more than a season).
Stems

1–20+, erect, slender, glabrous proximally, hispid distally.
Leaves

basal and proximal cauline persistent, subpetiolate to sessile, blades sometimes 3-nerved, linear to linear-lanceolate, 60–100 × 7–10 mm, stiff, flat, margins entire or subentire, faces glabrous or sparsely hairy;

mid to distal cauline sessile, blades linear oblanceolate to linear, 20–40 × 3–5 mm, reduced distally, margins entire.
Peduncles

29–36.5 mm, strigillose;

bracteoles linear.
Involucres

5–6 mm.
Ray florets

10–20, usually white, rarely pale yellow (conspicuous);

laminae 7–7.3 × 1.4–1.6 mm.
Disc florets

30–36;

corollas 3.8–4.1 mm, lobes 0.5–0.7 mm.
Phyllaries

in 4–5 series, usually prominently 1-nerved, linear, strongly unequal, outer acute, inner acute to obtuse, glabrous.
Heads

1–25(–50), in corymbiform arrays.
Cypselae

(obconic) 1–1.5 mm (ribbed), glabrous;

pappi 3.4–4 mm (apically clavate).
2n

= 18.

Solidago ptarmicoides
Phenology Flowering Jul–Oct.
Habitat Dry, sandy, usually calcareous soils, cracks in rocks, limestone pavements, rocky outcrops, grassy slopes, prairies
Elevation 0–1500 m (0–4900 ft)
Distribution
from FNA
CO; CT; IA; IL; IN; MI; MN; MO; MT; NH; NY; OH; OK; SC; SD; VT; WI; WY; MB; ON; QC; SK
[WildflowerSearch map]
[BONAP county map]
Discussion

L. Brouillet and J. C. Semple (1981) summarized the morphologic, chemical, cytological, and hybridization data on Solidago ptarmicoides and concluded that, except for the white rays, it is a typical member of sect. Ptarmicoidei. The species hybridizes with S. rigida, S. ohioensis, S. riddellii, and perhaps other goldenrods. It is not known to hybridize with any species of aster (regardless of genus); the supposed Aster × Solidago hybrids are the basis of all reports of intergeneric hybrids in the literature. Horticultural hybrids involving S. ptarmicoides and other Solidago species have been treated as S. ×luteus (M. L. Green ex Dress) Brouillet & Semple (×Solidaster luteus M. L. Green ex Dress). Solidago ×bernardii B. Boivin [Oligoneuron ×bernardii (B. Boivin) G. L. Nesom] is the formal name applied to S. ptarmicoides × S. riddellii hybrids; those have cream rays. Solidago ×lutescens (Lindley ex de Candolle) B. Boivin [Diplopappus lutescens Lindley ex de Candolle; D. albus var. lutescens (Lindley ex de Candolle) Hooker ex Torrey & A. Gray; Aster lutescens (Lindley ex de Candolle) Hooker ex Torrey & A. Gray; A. ptarmicoides var. lutescens (Lindley ex de Candolle) A. Gray; Oligoneuron ×lutescens (Lindley ex de Candolle) G. L. Nesom] applies to hybrids between S. ptarmicoides and S. rigida or S. riddellii from the prairies; these also have cream colored rays.

(Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.)
Source FNA vol. 20, p. 164.
Parent taxa Asteraceae > tribe Astereae > Solidago > sect. Ptarmicoidei
Sibling taxa
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. 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. 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
Synonyms Aster ptarmicoides, Diplopappus albus, Diplopappus ptarmicoides, Doellingeria ptarmicoides, Eucephalus albus, Heleastrum album, Inula alba, Oligoneuron album, S. asteroides, Unamia alba, Unamia ptarmicoides
Name authority (Torrey & A. Gray) B. Boivin: Phytologia 23: 21. (1972)
Web links 
Unless otherwise noted, all data comes from the online version of the Flora of North America, who have made most of their content available via a Creative Commons license (CC BY 4.0).



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