Solidago altissima

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Solidago altissima
Solidago canadensis resized.jpg
Photo by Kevin Robertson
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Plantae
Division: Magnoliophyta - Flowering plants
Class: Magnoliopsida - Dicots
Order: Asterales
Family: Asteraceae
Genus: Solidago
Species: S. altissima
Binomial name
Solidago altissima
L.
SOLI ALTI DIST.JPG
Natural range of Solidago altissima from USDA NRCS Plants Database.

Common Name(s): tall goldenrod; Great Plains tall goldenrod; southern tall goldenrod;[1] Canada goldenrod;[2] Canadian goldenrod; late goldenrod[3]

Taxonomic Notes

Varieties: S. altissima var. altissima; S. altissima var. pluricephala;[1][2] S. altissima var. gilvocanescens;[1] S. altissima var. procera[2]
Synonym(s): S. canadensis var. scabra; S. hirsutissima;[1][2] S. pruinosa; S. canadensis var. gilvocanescens;[1] S. lunellii[2]

Description

Solidago altissima is a dioecious perennial forb/herb.[2] This plant is rough, erect, and produces small yellow flowers that are arranged along upper side of branches, producing a plume. It reaches heights of 3-6 ft (0.91-1.83 m)[3] and forms large compact below-ground rhizome systems.[4]

Distribution

This species is found in all of the lower 48 United States, excluding Washington, Oregon, Nevada, Utah, Idaho, and Wyoming. It also occurs in the Canadian provinces of Saskatchewan, Manitoba, Ontario, Quebec, and New Brunswick.[2] S. altissima is also an exotic invasive in Europe (as cited in [4]).

Ecology

Habitat

S. altissima is found in roadsides,[1][3] fields, disturbed areas,[1] thickets, prairies, open woods,[3] stream banks, and marshes.[5] It prefers moist to dry soils composed of clay, clay loam, medium loam, sandy loam, sandy and caliche.[3]

Phenology

Flowering occurs from August through November.[1][6]

Pollination

S. altissima attracts birds, butterflies, and a large number of native bees.[3]

Use by animals

S. altissima responds to insect herbivory by spending energy to maintain itself, rather than producing seeds.[7] There are at least 103 species of insect herbivores of S. altissima, 42 (from 17 families) are specialists on Solidagospp.[8]

Conservation and Management

Cultivation and restoration

Photo Gallery

References and notes

  1. 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5 1.6 1.7 Weakley AS (2015) Flora of the Southern and Mid-Atlantic States. Chapel Hill, NC: University of North Carolina Herbarium.
  2. 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4 2.5 2.6 USDA NRCS (2016) The PLANTS Database (http://plants.usda.gov, 118 January 2018). National Plant Data Team, Greensboro, NC 27401-4901 USA.
  3. 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 3.4 3.5 Plant database: Solidago altissima. (18 January 2018) Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center. URL: https://www.wildflower.org/plants/result.php?id_plant=SOAL6
  4. 4.0 4.1 Meyer AH, Schmid B (1999) Experimental demography of rhizome populations of establishing clones of Solidago altissima. Journal of Ecology 87(1):42-54. Cite error: Invalid <ref> tag; name "Meyer & Schmid 1999" defined multiple times with different content
  5. Bostick PE (1971) Vascular plants of Panola Mountain, Georgia. Castanea 36(3):194-209.
  6. Nelson G (18 January 2018) PanFlora. Retrieved from gilnelson.com/PanFlora/
  7. Root RB (1996) Herbivore pressure on goldenrods (Solidago altissima): Its variation and cumulative effects. Ecology 77(4):1074-1087.
  8. Root RB & Cappuccino N (1992) Patterns in population change and the organization of the insect community associated with goldenrod. Ecological Monographs 62(3):393-420.