Solidago speciosa |
Solidago altiplanities |
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noble goldenrod, showy goldenrod |
high-plains goldenrod |
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Habit | Plants (30–)50–200 cm; caudices stout, woody. | Plants 30–100 cm; caudices woody, rhizomes elongate, branching, woody, forming new centers of growth. | ||||||||
Stems | 1(–5), erect, glabrous proximally to strigillose in arrays. |
1–20, erect, finely scabroso-puberulent, sparsely so with age proximally, densely so distally. |
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Leaves | basal and proximal cauline (sometimes withering by flowering) tapering to winged petioles, blades lanceolate to ovate-elliptic, 50–300 (including petiole) × 12–80 mm (sometimes firm), margins sharply serrate to crenate or entire, faces glabrate to sparsely strigillose; mid to distal cauline sessile, blades narrowly ovate to lanceolate or elliptic, 25–90 × 5–30 mm, gradually reduced distally, margins serrulate to entire (distally), ciliate, faces glabrous or sparsely scabroso-strigose. |
basal and proximal cauline withering by flowering, subsessile, gradually tapering to short-winged petiole-like bases; mid and distal cauline sessile, blades linear-elliptic to linear-lanceolate, 40–90 × 4–5 mm, 3-nerved from base, midnerves prominent, margins entire, finely scabrous, apices attenuate-acute, faces finely, sparsely to moderately strigose, more so on main nerves, finer nerves translucent, faces sometimes shiny. |
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Peduncles | 1.5–3 mm, sparsely to moderately scabroso-strigillose; bracteoles linear, grading into phyllaries, scattered along peduncles, clustered near heads. |
2–6 mm, finely strigose; bracteoles 1–10, often crowded, linear-lanceolate, 2–3 mm, grading into phyllaries. |
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Involucres | narrowly campanulate, 4–6.5 mm. |
narrowly campanulate, 3.5–4 mm. |
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Ray florets | (2–)3–7(–9); laminae 3–4 × 0.5–1 mm. |
4–5; laminae 1.5–2.5 × 0.5 mm. |
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Disc florets | 6–16; corollas 2.5–4 mm, lobes 0.5–1.2 mm. |
6–8, 3–3.5 mm, lobes 0.5 mm. |
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Phyllaries | in 3–4 series, appressed, strongly unequal, outer ovate, mid and inner lanceolate, (midnerves often raised and thick) apices acute to obtuse or rounded, glabrous. |
in 3–4 series, linear-lanceolate, strongly unequal, margins hyaline, distally subulate-ciliate, apices acute, glabrous. |
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Heads | 15–300+, not secund, in usually dense, sometimes open, elongate, paniculiform to thyrsiform arrays, (5–)10–45 × (2–)3–7(–12) cm; branches strongly ascending, often racemiform. |
25–350, in short to elongate, secund paniculiform arrays, branches ascending or ascending and distally recurved, sometimes second, sometimes elongate. |
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Cypselae | (narrowly obconic) 1.6–2.5 mm, glabrous; pappi 3–4.5 mm. |
(narrowly obconic) 1.5–2.5 mm, sparsely strigillose; pappi 3 mm. |
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2n | = 18. |
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Solidago speciosa |
Solidago altiplanities |
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Phenology | Flowering Sep–Oct. | |||||||||
Habitat | Mixed gypsum and shale soils, rocky slopes, escarpments, and ridges in high plains | |||||||||
Elevation | 400–1200 m (1300–3900 ft) | |||||||||
Distribution |
AL; AR; CO; CT; DE; GA; IA; IL; IN; KS; KY; LA; MA; MD; MI; MN; MO; MS; NC; ND; NE; NJ; NM; NY; OH; OK; RI; SC; SD; TN; TX; VA; VT; WI; WV; WY; ON
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OK; TX |
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Discussion | Subspecies 2 (2 in the flora). Solidago speciosa occurs scattered throughout its range, often in small populations. Five races have been acknowledged; only three varieties appear to warrant recognition. The species is divided into two nearly allopatric subspecies. The typical subspecies includes two varieties that are sometimes difficult to distinguish and considerably overlap in their ranges. The differences in size and number of leaves and persistence of the proximal cauline leaves may be caused in part by growing conditions. (Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.) |
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Key |
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Source | FNA vol. 20, p. 123. | FNA vol. 20, p. 154. | ||||||||
Parent taxa | Asteraceae > tribe Astereae > Solidago > sect. Solidago > subsect. Squarrosae | Asteraceae > tribe Astereae > Solidago > sect. Solidago > subsect. Triplinerviae | ||||||||
Sibling taxa | ||||||||||
Subordinate taxa | ||||||||||
Synonyms | Aster speciosus | |||||||||
Name authority | Nuttall: Gen. N. Amer. Pl. 2: 160. (1818) | C. E. S. Taylor & R. J. Taylor: Sida 10: 178, figs 2, 3. (1983) | ||||||||
Web links |