Solidago speciosa

Solidago speciosa Nutt. is treated in a narrow sense here based on research done in the Astereae Lab post Flora North America (Semple et al. 2017).  In FNA, Semple & Cook (2006) included S. jejunifolia, S. pallida, and S. rigidiuscula within S. speciosa.  The showy goldenrod retains its large lower stem leaves through flowering.  The fruits are glabrous except for a single populations in southern Maine.  The other three species, in the S. speciosa complex have very sparsely to moderately hairy fruits.  The species includes two ploidy levels; diploids (2n=18) occur east of the Appalachians; tetraploids (2n=36) occur in and west of the Appalachians and in the northeastern part of the range.

Semple et al. (2017) included S. speciosa in a multivariate analysis with S. hispida and S. sciaphila. Semple and Cook (2022) published a cytogeography maps for S. speciosa and related species. In a polygenomic phylogeny of Solidago, S. speciosa came out in a strongly supported branch with S. erecta.

Semple, J.C., L. Tong, and Y.A. Chong.  2017.  Multivariate studies of Solidago subsect. Squarrosae. I. The Solidago speciosa complex (Asteraceae: Astereae).  Phytoneuron 2017-18: 1–23.

Semple, J.C., L. Tong, Y. A. Chong and M. Kaddoura.  2017.  Multivariate studies of Solidago subsect. Squarrosae. II. The Solidago bicolor–S. hispida complex (Asteraceae: Astereae).  Phytoneuron 2017-33: 1–44.

Semple, J.C. and R.E. Cook. 2022. The cytogeography of Solidago sect. Erectae, sect. Villosicarpae, sect. Squarrosae, and sect. Brintonia (Asteraceae: Astereae).  Taxonomy 2: 261–278.

Semple, J.C., McMinn-Sauder, H., Stover, M., Lemmon, A., Lemmon E., and J. B. Beck. 2023. Goldenrod herbariomics: Hybrid-sequence capture reveals the phylogeny of diploid Solidago. Amer. J. Bot. 110(7): e16164.https://doi.org/10.1002/ajb2.16164

Last revised 18 May 2025 by J.C. Semple     

© 2025 J.C. Semple, including all photographs unless otherwise indicated