Northeast Wetland Flora
Field Office Guide to Plant Species
Solidago salicina Ell.
- Family: Aster (Compositae)
- Flowering: September-October
- Field Marks: This species differs by its spreading inflorescence with flower heads borne on one side of the branches, large broad leaves, square stems, and numerous stem leaves that are more or less round-toothed.
- Habitat: Swamps, bogs.
- Habit: Perennial herb from thickened rootstocks.
- Stems: Upright, usually branched, square, smooth, rather slender, up to 6 feet tall.
- Leaves: Basal and alternate, numerous, the lowest very large, becoming progressively smaller above, lanceolate to narrowly ovate, pointed at the tip, the basal on a winged stalk, the uppermost sessile, sharply toothed, rough on the upper surface, usually smooth on the lower surface.
- Flowers: Few in heads, with few to several heads arranged on one side of a widely branched panicle; heads with 6-8 ray flowers and 8-10 disk flowers; heads up to 1/5 inch high, on stalks of equal length; bracts subtending each head oblong, rounded at the tip.
- Sepals: 0.
- Petals: 5, yellow, some of them united to form rays, others united to form short tubes.
- Stamens: 5.
- Pistils: Ovary inferior, minutely hairy.
- Fruits: Achenes up to 1/8 inch long, hairy.
- Notes: This plant is called S. patula var. strictula by Gleason and Cronquist, as well as most recent authors. Gleason and Cronquist call this family Asteraceae.
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