Family: Asteraceae
early goldenrod
[Solidago arguta var. scabrella Aiton, more...]
Kenneth J. Sytsma
Robert W. Freckmann
University of Wisconsin - Madison (WIS-VP)
Etymology: Solidago: from Latin solido, meaning "to make whole or heal" and a reference to the supposed, medicinal qualities of these plants
Plants: erect, perennial, 1'-3' tall forb found in clumps; upper part of the stems not leafy or hairy
Leaves: lower sharply toothed, narrowly elliptical, tapering to a long stalk, without 3 prominent, parallel veins, upper leaves obviously smaller
Flowers: head with 7-12 minute, yellow rays; inflorescence a dense cluster about as tall as wide with the heads on one side of backward-curving branches; blooms June-Sept.
Fruits: dry seed with short hairs on fluffy pappus
Habitat: dry; prairies, woods, inland sands; in sandy, loamy soil
Conservation Status: Native
Plants: erect, perennial, 1'-3' tall forb found in clumps; upper part of the stems not leafy or hairy
Leaves: lower sharply toothed, narrowly elliptical, tapering to a long stalk, without 3 prominent, parallel veins, upper leaves obviously smaller
Flowers: head with 7-12 minute, yellow rays; inflorescence a dense cluster about as tall as wide with the heads on one side of backward-curving branches; blooms June-Sept.
Fruits: dry seed with short hairs on fluffy pappus
Habitat: dry; prairies, woods, inland sands; in sandy, loamy soil
Conservation Status: Native
Common throughout Wisconsin in open sandy fields, railroad embankments, semi-open woods of jack pine, oaks, or aspen, and dry to mesic prairies. These essentially glabrous plants resemble S. missouriensis but have wider basal leaves that rarely are prominently triple-nerved, a thick caudex rather than long slender rhizomes, and pubescent achenes. It is usually the earliest goldenrod to flower, sometimes starting in late June. It may hybridize with S. missouriensis, but that species usually blooms later, scarcely overlapping S. juncea anthesis.
Flora of North America: Flora of North America Floristic Rating: Coefficient of Conservatism = 4 Atlas of the Wisconsin Prairie and Savanna Flora: by T.S. Cochrane & H.H. Iltis: habitat, distribution infomation / flowering and fruiting times USDA Plants Database: Federal Distribution and detailed information including photos Dan Tenaglia's The Missouri Flora: Fabulous photographs; detailed descriptions; color and leave arrangement key. David G. Smith's "Delaware Wilflowers": Beautiful photographs; descriptions Illinois Wildflowers: Wonderful photographs; detailed descriptions; color and leaf arrangement key Southwest School of Botanical Medicine: Britton & Brown Illustrated Flora - 2nd Edition (1913) "An Illustrated Flora of the Northern United States and Canada"
Robert W. Freckmann
Kenneth J. Sytsma
