Solidago gigantea Aiton
Smooth goldenrod, giant goldenrod
Giant goldenrod is a North American native. They are fond of boundaries of wetlands and shaded floodplains. For a comparison chart of some of the varieties of goldenrods, see Solidago.
Plants: Plants are 3–7′ (91–213 cm) tall, erect. Stems are light green or pale purple, hairless, sometimes with a whitish waxy bloom. They occur in large patches.
Leaves: Narrow (lanceolate), ~3½ ⨉ ⅜–½″ (9.1–9.7 ⨉ 1–1.4 cm) (roughly equal in size throughout the plant). They are pointed at both ends, alternate, sessile, with sharp teeth and three veins.
Flowers: Flowerheads may be tight and roughly conical, but are often looser, composed of gently curved tiers of up to 600 small yellow flowers. Each composite flower has 9-15 conspicuous ray florets and 7-12 disc florets.
Fruits: Flowers become small spherical arrangements of seeds on “parachutes,” called cypselae, like dandilions gone to seed. The cypselae are ~1/32″ (1.3–1.5 mm) in diameter.
Habitats: Boundaries of wetlands and shaded floodplains.
Online References:
References:
Clemants, Steven; Gracie, Carol, Wildflowers in the Field and Forest, Oxford University Press, 2006, p. 156
The beetles are goldenrod soldier beetles (Chauliognathus pensylvanicus), and they help pollinate the goldenrod · 8/14/2014 · Oak Hill, Littleton Conservation Land, Littleton, Massachusetts · ≈ 6 × 6″ (14 × 14 cm) 
8/23/2013 · Andres Institute of Art, Big Bear Mountain, Brookline, New Hampshire · ≈ 5 × 5″ (12 × 12 cm) 
ID is uncertain 
8/23/2013 · Andres Institute of Art, Big Bear Mountain, Brookline, New Hampshire · ≈ 7 × 4½″ (18 × 12 cm) ID is uncertain 
8/11/2010 · Nashua River Rail Trail, Groton Center, Groton, Massachusetts · ≈ 10 × 6″ (26 × 16 cm) ID is uncertain 
8/24/2013 · Cranberry Meadow Pond Trail, Monadnock Conservancy, Peterborough, New Hampshire · ≈ 8 × 6″ (20 × 14 cm) 
8/23/2013 · Andres Institute of Art, Big Bear Mountain, Brookline, New Hampshire · ≈ 4½ × 7″ (12 × 18 cm) ID is uncertain 
10/4/2008 · Parker River National Wildlife Refuge, Plum Island, Massachusetts · ≈ 4 × 6″ (10 × 15 cm) ID is uncertain 
8/11/2010 · Nashua River Rail Trail, Groton Center, Groton, Massachusetts · ≈ 9 × 10″ (23 × 25 cm) ID is uncertain 
Formed by a gall midge, probably Rhopalomyia capitata · 8/12/2017 · Bates Land and Blackman Land, Groton Conservation Trust, Groton, Massachusetts · ≈ 4 × 3″ (9.9 × 7.6 cm) 
8/24/2013 · Cranberry Meadow Pond Trail, Monadnock Conservancy, Peterborough, New Hampshire · ≈ 6 × 8″ (14 × 20 cm) 
8/24/2013 · Cranberry Meadow Pond Trail, Monadnock Conservancy, Peterborough, New Hampshire · ≈ 8 × 6″ (20 × 14 cm) 
8/23/2013 · Andres Institute of Art, Big Bear Mountain, Brookline, New Hampshire · ≈ 4½ × 5″ (12 × 13 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 | gigantea | Very large: from Giganteus, “of or belonging to the giants” |
Solidago gigantea description by Thomas H. Kent, not updated.
© FloraFinder.org. All rights reserved.
