Solidago sempervirens (Seaside goldenrod)

Solidago sempervirens L.

Seaside goldenrod, salt-marsh goldenrod

Seaside goldenrods, which have adapted to the rigors of seaside living, are natives of North America. For a comparison chart of some of the varieties of goldenrods, see Solidago.

Plants: 1–6½′ (40–200 cm) tall, with 1-10 stems. They prefer oceanside habitats.

Leaves: Seaside goldenrods’ major identifying feature is fleshy, waxy, gray-green, salt-adapted leaves. Leaves have smooth edges, and are oblong or lanceolate. They are alternate, 2–3 ⨉ ½″ (5–7.6 ⨉ 1.3 cm), and attach directly to the stem (”sessile”). Leaves at the base are 3–5″ (7.6–12 cm) long.

Flowers: Flowerheads are dense yellow panicles facing to each side, 2–5″ (5–12 cm) across, with flowers only along the upward-pointing side. Each composite flower is about ¼–⅜″ (6.3–9.5 mm) around, somewhat larger than those of most goldenrods, with 8-17 ray florets and 10-22 disc florets. They appear from October to November, and sometimes in the spring.

Fruits: Flowers become small spherical arrangements of seeds on “parachutes,” called cypselae, like dandilions gone to seed. The cypselae are ~1/32″ (1.1–1.5 mm) in diameter.

Habitats: Sandy salt marsh soils.

Edibility: Not edible.

Online References:

The Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center

North Carolina Extension Gardener Plant Toolbox

Nas.er.usgs.gov

References:

Newcomb, Lawrence, Morrison, Gordon (Illus.), Newcomb’s Wildflower Guide, Little, Brown and Company, 1977, p. 446

Peterson, Roger Tory, McKenny, Margaret, Peterson Field Guides: Wildflowers—Northeastern and North Central North America, Houghton Mifflin, 1968, p. 198

Thierer, John W., Niering, William A, Olmstead, Nancy C., National Audubon Society Field Guide to North American Wildflowers, Eastern Region, Alfred A. Knopf, 2001, p. 323, 417

Brandenburg, David M., National Wildlife Federation Field Guide to Wildflowers of North America, Andrew Stuart Publishing, Inc., 2010, p. 137

9/18/2016 · Deer Isle, at Water’s Edge, Deer Isle, Maine

9/6/2023 · Beach near Cook’s Lobster and Ale House, Bailey Island, Maine

9/9/2023 · Salt marsh, Flying Point, Georgetown, Maine

9/29/2013 · Compass Harbor, Acadia National Park, Bar Harbor, Maine · ≈ 8 × 7″ (19 × 16 cm)

7/27/2015 · Two Lights State Park, Cape Elizabeth, Maine

9/11/2017 · Mt. Watatic, access road, Ashby, Massachusetts · ≈ 4½ × 7″ (12 × 16 cm)

9/7/2020 · Maquoit Bay Conservation Area, Brunswick, Maine · ≈ 8 × 5″ (20 × 13 cm)

9/18/2017 · Purgatory Falls, Mont Vernon, New Hampshire · ≈ 8 × 5″ (20 × 13 cm)

7/27/2015 · Two Lights State Park, Cape Elizabeth, Maine

9/29/2013 · Compass Harbor, Acadia National Park, Bar Harbor, Maine · ≈ 10 × 7″ (25 × 16 cm)

9/29/2013 · Compass Harbor, Acadia National Park, Bar Harbor, Maine · ≈ 9 × 6″ (23 × 16 cm)

9/18/2016 · Deer Isle, at Water’s Edge, Deer Isle, Maine

7/27/2015 · Two Lights State Park, Cape Elizabeth, Maine

9/18/2009 · Acadia National Park, Bar Harbor, Maine · ≈ 4 × 4″ (10 × 10 cm) ID is uncertain

8/24/2023 · Morse Mountain, Phippsburg, Maine · ≈ 6 × 10″ (16 × 24 cm)

9/6/2023 · Beach near Cook’s Lobster and Ale House, Bailey Island, Maine

9/18/2016 · Deer Isle Beach Vegetation Recla

9/11/2017 · Mt. Watatic, access road, Ashby, Massachusetts · ≈ 6 × 10″ (16 × 24 cm)

9/29/2013 · Compass Harbor, Acadia National Park, Bar Harbor, Maine · ≈ 8 × 10″ (19 × 26 cm)

9/9/2023 · Salt marsh, Flying Point, Georgetown, Maine

9/18/2016 · Deer Isle Beach Vegetation Recla

9/22/2020 · Giants’ Stairs, Bailey Island, Harpswell, Maine · ≈ 6 × 4″ (15 × 11 cm)

6/10/2016 · Lobster Cove Trail, Monhegan Island, Maine · ≈ 15 × 12″ (37 × 30 cm) ID is uncertain

8/24/2023 · Morse Mountain, Phippsburg, Maine · ≈ 5 × 7″ (13 × 18 cm)

9/29/2013 · Compass Harbor, Acadia National Park, Bar Harbor, Maine · ≈ 7 × 8″ (16 × 21 cm)

9/18/2017 · Purgatory Falls, Mont Vernon, New Hampshire · ≈ 10 × 6″ (24 × 16 cm)

Kingdom	Plantae	Plants, but not fungi, lichens, or algae (from Stearn's Botanical Latin)
Subkingdom	Tracheobionta	Vascular plants—plants with a “circulatory system” for delivering water and nutrients
Division	Magnoliophyta	Flowering plants, also known as angiosperms
Class	Magnoliopsida	Dicotyledons—plants with two initial seed leaves
Subclass	Asteridae	A large class that encompasses asters
Order	Asterales	Flowering plants with a central disk flower and surrounding petals, like daisies
Family	Asteraceae	The aster family, which also includes daisies and sunflowers; from the Greek ἀστήρ, “star,” for the star-shaped flowers
Genus	Solidago	From Latin solido, “to make whole or heal,” because it was believed these species had healing properties
Species	sempervirens	"Evergreen" (from Stearn's Botanical Latin)

About plant names...

Range: Zones 3-11:

About this map...

Solidago sempervirens description by Thomas H. Kent, not updated.