Solidago sempervirens
Solidago missouriensis
seaside goldenrod, verge d'or toujours verte
Missouri goldenrod, prairie goldenrod
1–10(–20+), erect or ascending, glabrous throughout or hairy in arrays.
1–50+, erect, glabrous or sometimes sparsely strigose in arrays;
fascicles of small lateral branch leaves often present in axils.
rosettes present at flowering;
basal and proximal cauline tapering to long, winged petioles sheathing stems or nearly so, blades narrowly ovate to oblanceolate, 100–400 × 10–60 mm, thick or fleshy, entire, acute, glabrous;
mid to distal cauline usually numerous, sessile, blades lanceolate, 40–60 × 5–10 mm, reduced distally, thick or fleshy, bases sometimes subclasping, margins entire.
proximal cauline tapering to long, winged petioles, blades oblanceolate to linear-oblanceolate, 50–100(–200) (including petiole) × (5–)10–20(–30) mm, margins entire to serrulate, usually 3-nerved (2 larger lateral nerves), apices acute, mucronate to acuminate and somewhat spinulose, glabrous;
mid to distal cauline sessile, blades lanceolate to linear, 40–60 × (2–)4–14 mm, rapidly reduced distally, margins entire, ciliate, faces glabrous.
2–3 mm, glabrous or sparsely hairy.
1.4–5 mm, glabrous or sparsely strigose;
bracteoles 0–3+, linear to lanceolate.
3–7 mm.
narrowly to broadly campanulate, 2.5–4.5 mm.
8–17;
laminae 5–6.2 × 0.4–0.6 mm.
5–14;
laminae 1.5–2(–4) × 0.2–0.5(–0.75) mm.
10–22;
corollas 3–3.2 mm, lobes 0.5–1.2 mm.
(6–)8–20;
corollas (2–)3–4 mm, lobes 0.4–1 mm.
in 3–4 series, unequal, lanceolate, margins ciliate, apices acute.
in 3–4 series, strongly unequal, margins ciliate-fimbriate, especially apically;
outer ovate to lanceolate, acute to rounded, inner linear-ovate to oblong or linear-lanceolate, obtuse to rounded.
20–500, secund, in paniculiform arrays, secund-pyramidal to broadly club-shaped, sometimes leafy proximally, at least proximal branches spreading-recurved, branches and peduncles bracteolate, bracteoles reduced distally.
10–210 in paniculiform arrays, broadly secund-pyramidal or more rhombic to transversely rhombic, (1.5–)3–12(–20) × (1.5–)3–12 cm;
branches glabrous with secund heads spreading and arching, sometimes ascending with non-secund heads.
(obconic) 1.1–1.5 mm, moderately strigose;
pappi 3.8–4 mm (slightly clavate).
(obconic) 1–2 mm, glabrous or sparsely strigose;
pappi 2.5–3 mm.
= 18, 36.
Solidago sempervirens
Solidago missouriensis
Subspecies 2 (2 in the flora).
Solidago sempervirens is common along the seacoast from the Gulf of St. Lawrence to central America and the northern West Indies. Introduced populations are sometimes very large near the Detroit River and Lake Erie in southwestern Ontario, eastern Michigan, and adjacent Ohio. A second disjunct group of populations occurs in Illinois and Indiana in the Chicago area at the southern end of Lake Michigan. Two mostly geographically separate subspecies can be recognized in the flora range. A race also occurs in the Azores and is undoubtedly introduced there [Solidago sempervirens var. azorica (Hochstetter ex Seubert) H. St. John]. Plants cultivated in European gardens have been labeled S. sempervirens var. viminea (Aiton) A. Gray.
(Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.)
Solidago missouriensis was often introduced along railroad lines farther east. It is a highly variable species. In the east, it can be similar to S. juncea and is not always easily distinguished where ranges overlap. In the west, it can similar to smaller plants of S. spectabilis. It is distinguished from the related species by its usually 3-nerved proximal leaves and the usually thin, elongate rhizomes. Across the prairies the species is known to be diploid only (2n = 18). In the Rocky Mountains, tetraploids (2n = 36) are common, the diploids infrequent.
A number of varieties have been described. Shorter, often larger-headed plants (tetraploids when known) from the Rocky Mountains have been treated as var. missouriensis (including var. extraria). Taller, more leafy-stemmed plants, mostly from the eastern half of the range, but occasionally west to Washington, have been treated as var. fasciculata. Plants from Arizona, Colorado, and New Mexico with long, linear leaves have been treated as var. tenuissima. Larger-headed plants with narrow bracts from prairies west of the Cascades in Oregon and Washington have been treated as var. tolmieana. A. Cronquist (1994) opted not to recognize varieties, noting that all appeared to grade continuously into each other. A detailed study of the species is needed.
(Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.)
1. Involucres 4–7 mm, rays 12–17, disc florets ca. 17–22; Newfoundland to New Jersey, locally to Virginia | subsp. sempervirens |
1. Involucres 3–4 mm, rays 7–11, disc florets ca. 10–16; Massachusetts to Texas and southward | subsp. mexicana |
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