Solidago fistulosa

Pine-barren Goldenrod

Solidago fistulosa Miller is native to wetter sandy soils, seepage areas, boggy grounds, edges of marshes and thickets, open pine woodlands, roadside ditches mainly on the coastal plain from New Jersey south to eastern Louisiana.  This rhizomatous species has mid stem leaves that are sessile, ± clasping, obscurely serrulate or subentire, and are not rugose (Semple & Cook 2006 FNA).  Lower stem leaves are usually not present on flowering shoots; these are oblanceolate with barely clasping to clasping winged petiole bases.  Stems are usually spreading hairy, but some very sparsely hairy plants have been seen in Florida.

I am not sure why the species has the common name of "pine-barren" goldenrod.  It grows in other habitats with wetter soils.  Perhaps the name was applied by botanists for plants from southern New Jersey and subsequently stuck to the species throughout its entire distribution.  "Clasping-leaf Goldenrod" might be more appropriate.

The species is diploid (2n=18) throughout its range (Semple et al. 2021)..