Wrinkleleaf goldenrod facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Wrinkleleaf goldenrod
variety aspera
Scientific classification
Genus:	Solidago
Species:	rugosa
Synonyms
Aster archerianus Kuntze Aster rugosus (Mill.) Kuntze Solidago aestivalis E. P. Bicknell, syn of var. sphagnophila Solidago aspera Aiton, syn of var. aspera Solidago celtidifolia Small, syn of var. celtidifolia

Solidago rugosa, commonly called the wrinkleleaf goldenrod or rough-stemmed goldenrod, is a species of flowering plant in the sunflower family (Asteraceae). It is native to North America, where it is widespread across eastern and central Canada (from Newfoundland to Ontario) and the eastern and central United States (Maine west as far as Wisconsin and Iowa, south to Florida and Texas). It is usually found in wet to mesic habitats.

Description

Solidago rugosa is a rough-leaved herbaceous perennial up to 2 m (6.6 ft) tall. Its leaves are primarily cauline. One plant can produce as many as 50 stems, each with 50–1500 yellow flower heads. It flowers in late summer through fall. It can be distinguished from the similar-looking Solidago ulmifolia by the presence of creeping rhizomes, and by its more abrupt leaf bases.

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  1913 illustration

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  Growing in a ruderal habitat

Taxonomy

Solidago rugosa is a variable plant throughout its range. Five varieties are currently recognized, although their relationships are complex and poorly understood. The varieties are:

• Solidago rugosa var. aspera (Aiton) Fernald - common throughout the east
• Solidago rugosa var. celtidifolia (Small) Fernald - coastal plain from Texas to Virginia
• Solidago rugosa var. cronquistiana Semple - high elevations in Georgia, Tennessee, North Carolina
• Solidago rugosa var. rugosa - common, generally more northern and Appalachian
• Solidago rugosa var. sphagnophila C. Graves - cedar swamps from Nova Scotia to coastal Virginia

Conservation

Solidago rugosa is common throughout most of its range, and is not tracked at the species level in any state or province it is native to. However, in Connecticut the variety sphagnophila is listed as a special concern and believed to be extirpated from the state.

Cultivation

Solidago rugosa is grown as an ornamental garden plant. The cultivar ‘Fireworks’ has gained the Royal Horticultural Society’s Award of Garden Merit.

Native American ethnobotany

The Iroquois use the whole plant for biliousness and as liver medicine, and take a decoction of flowers and leaves for dizziness, weakness or sunstroke.

Images for kids

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  A stalk of flowers.