Solidago caesia (Wreath goldenrod)

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Solidago caesia L.

Wreath goldenrod, blue-stemmed goldenrod, early goldenrod

Wreath goldenrods are natives of North America. For a comparison chart of some of the varieties of goldenrods, see Solidago.

Plants: 1–2½′ (35–80 cm) tall, relatively small for goldenrods. They have a purplish stem that may be covered with a whitish bloom. It is green when young, becoming blue-gray or purplish-gray with age. Single stems are common, though there may be a few branches.

Leaves: Up to 5 ⨉ 1″ (12 ⨉ 2.5 cm) at the base, and smaller further up the stem. They are lance-like (”lanceolate”) in shape, sometimes thickening more in the center and becoming more oval (”ovate”). Each leaf has a single prominent central vein.

Flowers: Flowerheads appear in clusters along the stem, often with a larger cluster at the top; flowering is from August to October. Flowers are even around each stem, not just on one side. Individual flowers are ⅛–¼″ (4–6.3 mm) in diameter, with 1-6 ray florets and 3-6 disc florets.

Fruits: Flowers become small spherical arrangements of seeds on “parachutes,” called cypselae, like dandilions gone to seed. The cypselae are 1/32–1/16″ (1–2 mm) in diameter.

Habitats: Moist woods, thickets and clearings.

Edibility: Not edible.

Online References:

Illinois Wildflowers

North Carolina Extension Gardener Plant Toolbox

The Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center

Flora of North America

References:

Newcomb, Lawrence, Morrison, Gordon (Illus.), Newcomb’s Wildflower Guide, Little, Brown and Company, 1977, p. 450

Peterson, Roger Tory, McKenny, Margaret, Peterson Field Guides: Wildflowers—Northeastern and North Central North America, Houghton Mifflin, 1968, p. 200

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. 322, 415

Brandenburg, David M., National Wildlife Federation Field Guide to Wildflowers of North America, Andrew Stuart Publishing, Inc., 2010, p. 136

Solidago axillaris Pursh
Solidago caesia L. var. axillaris (Pursh) A. Gray
Solidago caesia L. var. caesia

9/17/2023 · Sprague Pond Preserve, Basin Preserve, Phippsburg, Maine · ≈ 6 × 10″ (16 × 24 cm)

9/27/2018 · Pearl Hill State Park, Townsend, Massachusetts · ≈ 5 × 8″ (13 × 20 cm)

6/26/2024 · Morse Mountain, Phippsburg, Maine · ≈ 6 × 10″ (16 × 24 cm)

9/26/2010 · Doane’s Falls, Royalston, Massachusetts · ≈ 9 × 6″ (23 × 15 cm) ID is uncertain

9/15/2012 · Mt. Wachusett, Princeton, Massachusetts · ≈ 9 × 6″ (22 × 14 cm)

9/7/2021 · Tarbox Preserve, Topsham, Maine · ≈ 4 × 6″ (10 × 16 cm)

10/2/2011 · Nashua River Rail Trail, East Pepperell, Massachusetts · ≈ 6 × 5″ (15 × 13 cm) ID is uncertain

9/14/2010 · Garden in the Woods, Framingham, Massachusetts · ≈ 4½ × 7″ (11 × 17 cm)

9/14/2010 · Garden in the Woods, Framingham, Massachusetts · ≈ 6 × 9″ (14 × 22 cm)

9/17/2014 · Beaver Brook Conservation Area, Hollis, New Hampshire · ≈ 6 × 7″ (15 × 17 cm)

9/14/2010 · Garden in the Woods, Framingham, Massachusetts · ≈ 11 × 7″ (27 × 18 cm) ID is uncertain

9/9/2010 · Pine Meadow Conservation Trust Land, Groton Harvard Road, Ayer, Massachusetts · ≈ 7 × 11″ (18 × 27 cm) ID is uncertain

9/14/2010 · Garden in the Woods, Framingham, Massachusetts · ≈ 8 × 12″ (20 × 31 cm)

5/22/2010 · Garden in the Woods, Framingham, Massachusetts · ≈ 2 × 1′ (62 × 41 cm)

9/6/2010 · Henry E. Cowdrey Nature Center, Townsend, Massachusetts · ≈ 4½ × 6″ (11 × 14 cm)

10/2/2011 · Nashua River Rail Trail, East Pepperell, Massachusetts · ≈ 4½ × 4″ (11 × 10 cm) ID is uncertain

9/17/2023 · Sprague Pond Preserve, Basin Preserve, Phippsburg, Maine · ≈ 5 × 8″ (13 × 20 cm)

9/6/2010 · Henry E. Cowdrey Nature Center, Townsend, Massachusetts · ≈ 5 × 8″ (13 × 19 cm)

9/17/2023 · Sprague Pond Preserve, Basin Preserve, Phippsburg, Maine · ≈ 6 × 4½″ (14 × 12 cm)

9/7/2021 · Tarbox Preserve, Topsham, Maine · ≈ 4½ × 7″ (11 × 16 cm)

9/17/2023 · Sprague Pond Preserve, Basin Preserve, Phippsburg, Maine · ≈ 6 × 10″ (16 × 24 cm)

9/27/2018 · Pearl Hill State Park, Townsend, Massachusetts · ≈ 4½ × 7″ (12 × 18 cm)

9/7/2021 · Tarbox Preserve, Topsham, Maine · ≈ 4 × 6″ (10 × 15 cm)

9/26/2010 · Doane’s Falls, Royalston, Massachusetts · ≈ 9 × 6″ (22 × 14 cm) ID is uncertain

6/26/2024 · Morse Mountain, Phippsburg, Maine · ≈ 6 × 10″ (16 × 24 cm)

9/15/2012 · Mt. Wachusett, Princeton, Massachusetts · ≈ 9 × 6″ (22 × 14 cm)

9/6/2010 · Henry E. Cowdrey Nature Center, Townsend, Massachusetts · ≈ 6 × 9″ (15 × 21 cm)

9/14/2010 · Garden in the Woods, Framingham, Massachusetts · ≈ 5 × 6″ (13 × 15 cm)

9/7/2021 · Tarbox Preserve, Topsham, Maine · ≈ 4 × 4½″ (10 × 11 cm)

10/13/2015 · ≈ 5 × 8″ (12 × 19 cm)

9/9/2010 · Pine Meadow Conservation Trust Land, Groton Harvard Road, Ayer, Massachusetts · ≈ 4½ × 7″ (11 × 17 cm) ID is uncertain

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	caesia	“Light blue,” from the light bluish-gray stem coloring on mature plants

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