Solidago caesia L. - Blue-Stemmed Goldenrod


 

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Solidago caesia - (image 1 of 5)

 

Taxonomy

Family: Asteraceae

Habitat

Rich woods, shaded dune slopes, sandy black oak savanna.

Associates

Acer saccharum, Actaea pachypoda, Bortrychium virginianum, Fraxinus americana, Geranium maculatum, Hepatica acutiloba, Podophyllum peltatum, Prunus virginiana, Quercus rubra, Smilacina racemosa, Tilia americana, Vitis riparia. Other associate include Asimina triloba, Cornus florida, Erythronium americanum, Euonymus obovatus, Fagus grandifolia, Lindera benzoin, Polygonatum pubescens, Viburnum acerifolium. On shaded dune slopes (and rocky slopes) with Aquilegia canadensis, Aralia nudicaulis, Hamamelis virginiana, Prenanthes alba, Sanguinaria canadensis, Sassafras albidum, Taxus canadensis, Trillium flexipes, Tsuga canadensis, Uvularia grandiflora.

 Distribution

Nova Scotia and southern Quebec west to WI, south to FL and TX.

Morphology

Herbaceous perennial. Stems purple, glaucous with a waxy bloom that can be easily removed. Leaves narrowly lanceolate, tapered to a sessile base, less than 3 cm wide, mostly smooth. Flowers yellow; heads in short axillary racemes, all but occasionally the uppermost exceeded by their subtending leaves.

Notes

Flowers early September to mid October

Wetland indicator: Facultative Upland

The bluish-purple stem, axillary flowers, and woodland habitat make this an easy species to recognize in the field.

References

Gleason, Henry A. and A. Cronquist. 1991. Manual of Vascular Plants of Northeastern United States and Adjacent Canada. Second Ed.

The New York Botanical Garden. Bronx, NY

 

Swink, F. and G. Wilhelm. 1994. Plants of the Chicago Region.
Indiana Academy of Science. The Morton Arboretum. Lisle, Illinois.

 


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 Michael Hough © 2005