The green links below add additional plants to the comparison table. Blue links lead to other Web sites.
enable glossary links

seaside goldenrod, verge d'or toujours verte

common wrinkle-leaf goldenrod, rough-stem goldenrod, verge d'or rugueuse, wrinkle-leaf goldenrod

Habit Plants 40–200 cm; caudices short, stout. Plants 30–200 cm; rhizomes long-creeping, forming clones.
Stems

1–10(–20+), erect or ascending, glabrous throughout or hairy in arrays.

1–50+, erect, glabrous or densely hispid to strigose.

Leaves

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.

basal withering by flowering;

proximal cauline usually withering by flowering, sessile, blades elliptic to lanceolate, 68–104 × 20–25 mm, margins sharply serrate, apices acute to attenuate, abaxial faces usually hispido-strigose (at least on main nerves), nerves sometimes prominent, abaxial glabrate;

mid to distal cauline sessile, blades lanceolate, elliptic or ovate, (15–)40–75(–90) × (6–)12–22(–32) mm, largest at midstem, somewhat reduced to much reduced distally, margins coarsely to finely serrate, ciliate, indument similar to proximal or denser.

Peduncles

2–3 mm, glabrous or sparsely hairy.

1–1.8 mm, sparsely to densely hispido-strigillose;

bracteoles linear- lanceolate to ovate.

Involucres

3–7 mm.

narrowly campanulate, (2–)2.5–3.5(–4.5) mm.

Ray florets

8–17;

laminae 5–6.2 × 0.4–0.6 mm.

(4–)6–8(–12);

laminae (0.9–)1–1.6(–2.3) × 0.4–0.7 mm.

Disc florets

10–22;

corollas 3–3.2 mm, lobes 0.5–1.2 mm.

(2–)4–6(–8);

corollas 2–3.5(–4.5) mm, lobes (0.5–)0.7–1(–1.3) mm.

Phyllaries

in 3–4 series, unequal, lanceolate, margins ciliate, apices acute.

in 3–4 series, strongly unequal, lanceolate to linear-lanceolate, acute to obtuse.

Heads

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.

50–1500, secund, in secund-pyramidal paniculiform arrays 7–36(–50) × 9–26 cm, compact to lax, branches divergent and recurved, longest 0.8–34 cm, leafy-bracteate.

Cypselae

(obconic) 1.1–1.5 mm, moderately strigose;

pappi 3.8–4 mm (slightly clavate).

(narrowly obconic) 0.9–1.5 mm, moderately strigillose;

pappi 1.8–2.5 mm.

Solidago sempervirens

Solidago rugosa

Distribution
from FNA
AL; CT; DE; FL; GA; IL; LA; MA; MD; ME; MI; MS; NC; NH; NJ; NY; OH; PA; RI; SC; TX; VA; NB; NF; NS; ON; PE; QC; Mexico; Central America; West Indies [Introduced inland around Great Lakes, introduced to Atlantic Islands (Azores)]
[WildflowerSearch map]
[BONAP county map]
from FNA
AL; AR; CT; DE; FL; GA; IL; IN; KY; LA; MA; MD; ME; MI; MO; MS; NC; NJ; NY; OH; OK; PA; RI; SC; TN; TX; VA; VT; WI; WV; NB; NS; ON; PE; QC
[WildflowerSearch map]
[BONAP county map]
Discussion

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.)

Subspecies 2 (2 in the flora).

Solidago rugosa is highly variable in size, array shape, and hairiness. It is similar to members of the S. canadensis complex; it differs in not having 3-nerved leaves. The species is divided into two subspecies and five varieties that can be difficult to distinguish.

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

Key
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
1. Leaves relatively thin, not very rugose, usually sharply toothed, apices acuminate, glabrous or relatively soft-hairy; ray florets (4–)6–11(–13); northern (subsp. rugosa)
→ 2
1. Leaves relatively thick and firm, strongly rugose-nerved, usually blunt-toothed to subentire, apices often acute, relatively short and stiff hairy; ray florets 4–9; mostly se United States (subsp. aspera)
→ 3
2. Stems and leaves hairy; e Canada and ne United States s to Virginia
var. rugosa
2. Stems and leaves glabrous; coastal cedar bogs and swamps
var. sphagnophila
3. Arrays narrow, proximal branches not much exceeding subtending leaves; herbage sparsely hairy; mid to higher elevations in mountains
var. cronquistiana
3. Arrays wide, usually with elongate proximal branches greatly exceeding subtending leaves; herbage moderately to densely hairy; lower elevations in mountains, piedmont, and coastal plain
→ 4
4. Distal cauline leaves lanceolate to elliptic, not much reduced distally; much of range of subspecies
var. aspera
4. Distal cauline leaves ovate, much reduced distally; outer coastal plain
var. celtidifolia
Source FNA vol. 20, p. 136. FNA vol. 20, p. 146.
Parent taxa Asteraceae > tribe Astereae > Solidago > sect. Solidago > subsect. Maritimae Asteraceae > tribe Astereae > Solidago > sect. Solidago > subsect. Venosae > ser. Venosae
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. ptarmicoides, S. puberula, S. pulchra, S. radula, S. riddellii, S. rigida, S. roanensis, S. rugosa, S. rupestris, S. sciaphila, 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. 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. 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. sempervirens subsp. mexicana, S. sempervirens subsp. sempervirens
S. rugosa var. aspera, S. rugosa var. celtidifolia, S. rugosa var. cronquistiana, S. rugosa var. rugosa, S. rugosa var. sphagnophila
Synonyms Aster sempervirens Aster rugosus
Name authority Linnaeus: Sp. Pl. 2: 878. (1753) Miller: Gard. Dict. ed. 8, Solidago no. 25. (1768)
Web links