Spermatophytes (seed plants): Angiosperms (flowering plants): Eudicots: Core Eudicots: Asterids: Campanulids: Asterales
WEAKLEY'S FLORA OF THE SOUTHEASTERN US (2/10/25):
Solidago nemoralis
FAMILY
Asteraceae
Go to FSUS key
Dig deeper at SERNEC, a consortium of southeastern herbaria.
Gray Goldenrod gets its name from the whitish, very short hairs that cover stems and leaves, giving the plant a grayish-green or pale green color as opposed to bright or dark green color. Read more at Vascular Plants of North Carolina.
SYNONYMOUS WITH
PLANTS NATIONAL DATABASE:
Solidago nemoralis var. nemoralis
FAMILY
Asteraceae
SYNONYMOUS WITH Vascular flora of Illinois (Mohlenbrock, 2014)
Solidago nemoralis
SYNONYMOUS WITH Flora of North America north of Mexico, vol. 19-20-21 (2006)
Solidago nemoralis ssp. nemoralis
INCLUDED WITHIN VASCULAR FLORA OF THE CAROLINAS (Radford, Ahles, & Bell, 1968) 179-49-022:
Solidago nemoralis FAMILY Asteraceae
INCLUDED WITHIN Manual of the Southeastern Flora (Small, 1933, 1938)
Solidago nemoralis
COMMON NAME:
Eastern Gray Goldenrod
To see larger pictures, click or hover over the thumbnails.
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JK Marlow jkm180920_4835
September Greenville County SC
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JK Marlow jkm180921_4844
September Greenville County SC
)
JK Marlow jkm180921_4847
September Greenville County SC
)
JK Marlow jkm200926_7424
September Transylvania County NC
DuPont State Forest
Heads in terminal plumes, on one side of grayish, finely hairy branches, per Wildflowers of Tennessee, the Ohio Valley, and the Southern Appalachians (Horn, Cathcart, Hemmerly, & Duhl, 2005).
)
JK Marlow jkm200926_7424b
September Transylvania County NC
DuPont State Forest
The ray florets are long for a goldenrod, per Vascular Plants of North Carolina.
)
JK Marlow jkm200926_7427
September Transylvania County NC
DuPont State Forest
Short whitish hairs on stems & leaves impart a gray-green/pale green color, per Vascular Plants of North Carolina.
)
JK Marlow jkm200926_7430
September Transylvania County NC
DuPont State Forest
Stems obviously densely and loosely puberulent, per Weakley's Flora (2020).
)
JK Marlow jkm200926_7437
September Transylvania County NC
DuPont State Forest
Lower leaves including petioles mostly more than 4x long as wide, per Weakley's Flora (2020).
)
JK Marlow jkm200926_7438
September Transylvania County NC
DuPont State Forest
Lower lf blades oblanceolate to narrowly ovate, gradually tapering to petiole, per Weakley's Flora.
)
JK Marlow jkm210907_3395
September Greenville County SC
Blackwell Heritage Preserve
Rhizomes short, stems erect, terete, puberulent, per Vascular Flora of the Carolinas (Radford, Ahles, & Bell, 1968).
)
JK Marlow jkm201008_7646
October Greenville County SC
)
JK Marlow jkm201008_7654
October Greenville County SC
Leaf margins crenate-serrate through half or more of their length, per Weakley's Flora (2020).
)
JK Marlow jkm201008_7655
October Greenville County SC
Basal & lower stem lvs larger than middle & upper. Inflorescence paniculiform, per Weakley's Flora.
)
JK Marlow jkm211002_4012
October Greenville County SC
Goldenrod framed in Maryland Golden-aster & Winged Sumac - how lovely!
)
JK Marlow jkm211002_4028
October Greenville County SC
)
JK Marlow jkm211002_4029
October Greenville County SC
)
JK Marlow jkm211002_4030
October Greenville County SC
Mid and distal stem leaves sometimes subtending axillary tufts of leaves, per Flora of North America.
)
JK Marlow jkm221004_0216
October Greenville County SC
Bald Rock Heritage Preserve
WEAKLEY'S FLORA OF THE SOUTHEASTERN US (2/10/25):
Solidago nemoralis
FAMILY
Asteraceae
SYNONYMOUS WITH
PLANTS NATIONAL DATABASE:
Solidago nemoralis var. nemoralis
FAMILY
Asteraceae
SYNONYMOUS WITH
Vascular flora of Illinois (Mohlenbrock, 2014)
Solidago nemoralis
SYNONYMOUS WITH
Flora of North America north of Mexico, vol. 19-20-21
Solidago nemoralis ssp. nemoralis
INCLUDED WITHIN
VASCULAR FLORA OF THE CAROLINAS (Radford, Ahles, & Bell, 1968) 179-49-022:
Solidago nemoralis
FAMILY
Asteraceae
INCLUDED WITHIN
Manual of the Southeastern Flora (Small, 1933, 1938)
Solidago nemoralis
1424
Forb
Perennial
Habitat: woodlands, glades, barrens, roadbanks, per Weakley's Flora
Native to the Carolinas & Georgia
Common
CLICK HERE to see a map, notes, and images from Weakley's Flora of the Southeastern US.
LEAVES:
Simple
Leaves basally disposed (basal & lower stem leaves larger, petiolate, & usually persistent); middle and upper stem leaves smaller & less petiolate
Alternate & basal
FLOWER:
Summer/Fall
Rays: Yellow
Disc: Yellow
Inferior ovary
Disc flowers bisexual & fertile/ Ray flowers pistillate & fertile
Flower heads in paniculiform inflorescences with heads secund on the branches
FRUIT:
Summer/Fall
Achene
TO LEARN MORE about this plant, look it up in a good book!
- All About South Carolina Wildflowers (Midgley, 1999) p265
- Forest Plants of the Southeast and Their Wildlife Uses (Miller & Miller, 2005) p176
- Gardening with Native Plants of the South (Wasowski & Wasowski, 1994, 2020) p170
- Gardening with the Native Plants of Tennessee (Hunter, 2002) p174
- Newcomb's Wildflower Guide (Newcomb, 1977) p446
- Wildflowers of the Atlantic Southeast (Cotterman, Waitt, & Weakley, 2019) p292
- Wild Flowers of NC, 2nd edition (Justice, Bell, & Lindsey, 2005) p266
- Field Guide to the Wildflowers of Georgia (Chafin, 2016) p116
- Wildflowers of Tennessee (Carman, 2005) p329
- Wildflowers of Tennessee, the Ohio Valley, and the Southern Appalachians (Horn, Cathcart, Hemmerly, & Duhl, 2005) p381
- Wildflowers of the Southern Mountains (Smith, 1998) p203
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