Online Virtual Flora of Wisconsin

Solidago rigida L.

Family: Asteraceae

rigid goldenrod, stiff goldenrod

[Oligoneuron rigidum (L.) Small]

from USDA Plants website

University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee (UWM)

Open Interactive Map

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'-5' tall forb; stems densely hairy; forming clumps
Leaves: stiff, gray-green, rough, oval to oblong, hairy on both side; largest, long-stalked leaves toward the bottom, upper leaves mostly stalkless
Flowers: head with 7-14 yellow rays up to 1/5" long, disk to 1/3" wide; inflorescence 2"-10" wide, dense, flat-topped cluster of rather large heads; blooms July-Oct.
Fruits: dry seed on fluffy pappus
Habitat: full to partial sun; dry to moderate moisture; prairies, woods; in sandy, loamy soil
Conservation Status: Native

Dry to mesic prairies, sandy fields and roadsides, fencerows, overgrazed pastures, south of the Tension Zone, spreading north and east along sandy roads, railroads, and lake beaches. Most Wisconsin plants represent subsp. rigida, common on prairies remnants and savannas throughout the Midwest. Members of this more robust subspecies are diploids or tetraploids, often one meter tall, with large basal leaves, open corymbose panicles, glabrous achenes, and sparsely pubescent inner phyllaries with rounded apex. Subspecies humilis (Porter) S.B.Heard & Semple includes smaller diploids of the Great Plains, usually less than 70 cm tall, with numerous small basal leaves, tight corymbs, hairy achenes, and conspicuously pubescent inner phyllaries with pointed apex.