Northern Prairie Wildlife Research Center
Aquatic and Wetland Vascular Plants of the Northern Great Plains
49. Asteraceae, the Aster Family
10. Euthamia Nutt.
1. Euthamia graminifolia (L.) Nutt. -- Narrow-leaved goldenrod
Erect rhizomatous perennial 3-9 dm tall; stem usually simple below and
branched above, leafy except in the lower portion where the leaves are deciduous,
glabrous or with scabrous lines decurrent from the leaf bases. Leaves
simple, alternate, sessile, linear to linear-lanceolate or linear-elliptic,
2-10 cm long, 2-10 mm wide, 3- to 5-nerved, glabrous or scabrous on the margins
and midrib, glandular-punctate, acute to acuminate, entire. Heads small,
radiate, 20- to 35-flowered, usually numerous in flat-topped clusters comprising
a corymbiform inflorescence; involucres campanulate to turbinate, 3-5
mm high, glutinous, the bracts in few to several series, imbricate, yellowish
or green-tipped with a chartaceous base, outer ones ovate and obtuse, inner
ones oblong to linear-oblong, obtuse to acute or acuminate; receptacle
small, flat or convex, naked; ray florets pistillate, more numerous than
the disk florets, the ligules yellow, 1-3 mm long; disk florets perfect,
yellow; style branches flattened, puberulent. Achenes several-nerved,
ca. 1 mm long, short-hairy; pappus of numerous white capillary bristles.
Late Jul--Sep. Fresh wet meadows, springs, fens, seepage areas, shores and stream
banks, often where sandy or gravelly; frequent in e and c ND, e and sw SD, n
NE and e WY; (Newf. and Que. to B.C., s to VA, AL, TX and NM). Solidago graminifolia
(L.) Salisb.
The prevalent phase of E. graminifolia in the northern part of our
area is var. major (Michx.) Moldenke, distinguished by the usually
acute-tipped leaves which are obscurely glandular-punctate, and the heads
containing 20-35 florets. The var. graminifolia is similar except the
leaves have attenuate tips and are conspicuously punctate under magnification.
The latter occurs infrequently in se ND.
Euthamia gymnospermoides Greene is a similar species that is uncommon
and scattered from se ND to NE. It tends to favor drier sites than the above
and differs in having heads with 12-20 florets and narrower, conspicuously
punctate leaves with only 1-3 nerves. This entity has been treated by many
authors as Solidago graminifolia var. media (Greene) S.K. Harris.
Previous Section -- Eupatorium perfoliatum L.
-- Boneset
Return to Family -- Asteraceae - The
Aster Family
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U.S. Geological Survey