Solidago flexicaulis

Solidago flexicaulis, the broadleaved goldenrod,[2] or zigzag goldenrod,[3] is a North American species of herbaceous perennial plants in the sunflower family (Asteraceae). It is native to the eastern and central parts of the United States and Canada, from Nova Scotia west to Ontario and the Dakotas, and south as far as Alabama and Louisiana.[4] It grows in a variety of habitats including mesic upland forests, well drained floodplain forests, seepage swamp hummocks, and rocky woodlands.[5][2][6]

Zigzag goldenrod
Scientific classification
Kingdom:
Plantae
(unranked):
Angiosperms
(unranked):
Eudicots
(unranked):
Asterids
Order:
Asterales
Family:
Asteraceae
Tribe:
Astereae
Genus:
Solidago
Species:
S.  flexicaulis
Binomial name
Solidago flexicaulis
Synonyms[1]
  • Aster latifolius (L.) Kuntze 1891 not Mill. 1768
  • Doria flexicaulis (L.) Lunell
  • Solidago latifolia L.
  • Solidago scrophulariifolia Mill.

The plant is called the "zigzag goldenrod" because the thin, wiry stem zigs and zags back and forth, changing direction at each node (leaf attachment point). The plant bears sometimes as many as 250 small yellow flower heads, some at the end of the stem, others in the axils of the leaves. The leaves are very broad, almost round, but with an elongated tip at the end and large teeth along the edges.[2]

  • Photo showing elongated inflorescence

References
  1. "Solidago flexicaulis". The Global Compositae Checklist (GCC) – via The Plant List.
  2. Semple, John C.; Cook, Rachel E. (2006). "Solidago flexicaulis". In Flora of North America Editorial Committee (ed.). Flora of North America North of Mexico (FNA). 20. New York and Oxford – via eFloras.org, Missouri Botanical Garden, St. Louis, MO & Harvard University Herbaria, Cambridge, MA.
  3. "Solidago flexicaulis". Natural Resources Conservation Service PLANTS Database. USDA. Retrieved 18 November 2015.
  4. "Solidago flexicaulis". County-level distribution map from the North American Plant Atlas (NAPA). Biota of North America Program (BONAP). 2014.
  5. Digital Atlas of the Virginia Flora
  6. Blanchan, Neltje (2005). Wild Flowers Worth Knowing. Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation.


This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.