Solidago sphacelata

Solidago sphacelata Raf. is easily recognized by its very short pappus bristles and petiolate, cordate rosette and basal stem leaves (Semple & Cook 2006 FNA).  The common name "false goldenrod" comes from the erroneous assignment of the species to the segregate genus Brachychaeta Torr. & A. Gray rather than to Solidago, where it belongs. Semple and Beck (2021) placed S. sphacelata in S. subsect. Brachychaeta (Torr. & A. Gray) Semple & J.B. Beck in S. sect. Argutae (Mackenzie) Semple & J.B. Beck based on a polygenomic phylogeny results in Semple et al. (2023) which indicated a weak relationship to S. patula and S. salicina of subsect. Patulae. The short pappus is just the extreme case of shorter bristle length in the genus (Hood & Semple 2003). The species occurs in open woods and rocky places across the central eastern U.S. The species was included in a multivariate analysis that included the S. arguta complex and the S. patula complex; S. sphacelata was strongly supported as distinct from other species in the section (Semple et al. 2021). The species is diploid (2n=18). Semple and Morton (2024) presented a map of the cytogeography of S. sphacelata.

Semple, J.C. and J.B. Beck. 2021. A revised infrageneric classification of Solidago (Asteraceae: Astereae). Phytoneuron 2021-10. 1-6.

Semple, J.C., K. Nizamani, K. Kornobis, G. Samra, L. Tong and T. Stavroullakis. 2021. A multivariate study of Solidago sect. Argutae (Asteraceae: Astereae).  Phytoneuron 2021-20: 1–56.

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

Semple, J.C. and G.H. Morton. 2024.  Cytogeography of Solidago sect. Argutae (Asteraceae: Astereae). Phytoneuron 2024-13: 1–13.

Last revised 19 May 2025 by J.C. Semple     

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