Family – Asteraceae
Stems:
Leaves:
Inflorescence:
N/A
Involucre:
Ray flowers:
Disk flowers:
N/A
Flowering – September – December.
Habitat – Old fields, roadsides, pastures, waste ground, sandhills.
Origin – Native to North America.
Other information – This species can be found in scattered Alabama counties mainly in the northern half of the state. The plant can be identified by the pubescence and grayish color of its leaves. The leaves have a soft, yet scratchy feel to them. The feel is hard to describe in words but is about equal to P600 grit sandpaper. This feel, combined with the crenate-serrate margins, makes the basal leaves of this plant easy to identify in the field.
Alabama plants belong to the variety nemoralis.
The genus name Solidago derives from the Latin “solidus” meaning “whole” or “to make whole” and the Greek “ago” meaning “leader”. The name Solidago means “uniter (used as a healing medicine)”.
The species epithet nemoralis derives from the Latin “nemor(al)” meaning “woodland, a groove” hence the plant’s common name.
Alabama Distribution:
Photographs taken off Lee Rd 10, Lee County, AL., 10-2-04.