Northeast Wetland Flora
Field Office Guide to Plant Species
Solidago caesia L.
- Family: Aster (Compositae)
- Flowering: August-October
- Field Marks: This golden-rod differs by its axillary flower clusters, smooth stems, and lanceolate to narrowly oblong leaves.
- Habitat: Rich woods.
- Habit: Perennial herb from short, stout rhizomes.
- Stems: Upright, branched or unbranched, smooth, often glaucous or bluish, up to 3 feet tall.
- Leaves: Alternate, simple, lanceolate to narrowly oblong, long-pointed at the tip, tapering to the sessile base, sharply toothed, smooth on both surfaces, slightly hairy, up to 5 inches long, up to 1 3/4 inches wide.
- Flowers: Few in heads borne in axillary clusters, the heads up to 1/4 inch high; heads with 3-5 ray flowers and 3-7 disk flowers; bracts subtending the heads rounded at the tip, smooth.
- Sepals: 0.
- Petals: 5, yellow, some united to form rays, others united to form short tubes.
- Stamens: 5.
- Pistils: Ovary inferior, hairy.
- Fruits: Achenes hairy, up to 1/8 inch long.
- Notes: This family is called Asteraceae by Gleason and Cronquist.
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Return to Species List -- Group 8
Next Species -- Canada Golden-rod (Solidago canadensis)
