Solidago speciosa |
Solidago confinis |
|||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
noble goldenrod, showy goldenrod |
southern goldenrod |
|||||||||
Habit | Plants (30–)50–200 cm; caudices stout, woody. | Plants 30–210 cm; caudices branching, thick, woody. | ||||||||
Stems | 1(–5), erect, glabrous proximally to strigillose in arrays. |
1–10+, ascending-erect, glabrous, often short fascicles of leaves present at nodes in axes of distal cauline leaves. |
||||||||
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. |
rosettes present at flowering; basal and proximal cauline tapering to elongate, winged petioles, bases nearly sheathing stems, blades linear-lanceolate, 50–260 (including petiole) × 5–45 mm, somewhat fleshy (fresh), margins entire, faces glabrous; mid and distal cauline crowded (robust plants), sessile, blades linear-lanceolate to lanceolate, 20–130 × 5–10(–25) mm, reduced distally, margins entire, apices acute to attenuate, glabrous. |
||||||||
Peduncles | 1.5–3 mm, sparsely to moderately scabroso-strigillose; bracteoles linear, grading into phyllaries, scattered along peduncles, clustered near heads. |
2–8 mm, glabrous or sparsely strigose; bracteoles 1–3, distally grading into phyllaries. |
||||||||
Involucres | narrowly campanulate, 4–6.5 mm. |
campanulate, 2.5–4 mm. |
||||||||
Ray florets | (2–)3–7(–9); laminae 3–4 × 0.5–1 mm. |
8–12; laminae 1–2.5 × 1 mm. |
||||||||
Disc florets | 6–16; corollas 2.5–4 mm, lobes 0.5–1.2 mm. |
10–20; corollas 3–4 mm, lobes 1–1.5 mm. |
||||||||
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-triangular, unequal, margins involute near tip, sharply acute, the outer 1/3–2/3 length of inner (1–3 × 0.4–0.9 mm), midribs usually enlarged and translucent. |
||||||||
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. |
70–320, usually not secund, in thyrsiform-paniculiform arrays, sometimes apically secund, 5–25(–50) × 2–14 cm; branches ascending to arching. |
||||||||
Cypselae | (narrowly obconic) 1.6–2.5 mm, glabrous; pappi 3–4.5 mm. |
(narrowly obconic) 2 mm (5–7 broad ribs lighter than body), sparsely to moderately strigose; pappi 2–3 mm. |
||||||||
2n | = 18. |
|||||||||
Solidago speciosa |
Solidago confinis |
|||||||||
Phenology | Flowering Jul–Oct. | |||||||||
Habitat | Wet stream banks, springs, marshes | |||||||||
Elevation | 0–2500 m (0–8200 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
|
CA; Mexico (Baja California)
|
||||||||
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.) |
Solidago confinis is similar to S. spectabilis and was treated by A. Cronquist (1994) as a variety of that species. (Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.) |
||||||||
Key |
|
|||||||||
Source | FNA vol. 20, p. 123. | FNA vol. 20, p. 143. | ||||||||
Parent taxa | Asteraceae > tribe Astereae > Solidago > sect. Solidago > subsect. Squarrosae | Asteraceae > tribe Astereae > Solidago > sect. Solidago > subsect. Junceae | ||||||||
Sibling taxa | ||||||||||
Subordinate taxa | ||||||||||
Synonyms | Aster speciosus | S. confinis var. luxurians, S. spectabilis var. confinis | ||||||||
Name authority | Nuttall: Gen. N. Amer. Pl. 2: 160. (1818) | A. Gray: Proc. Amer. Acad. Arts 17: 191. (1882) | ||||||||
Web links |