Of the hundred or so species of goldenrod known to exist, most are North American natives,
with a few from South and Central America, and Eurasia. The genus Solidago means "to make whole
or heal," referring to the medicinal properties these plants were believed to possess—properties that have not
been confirmed by medical studies. Goldenrods are perennials, dying back to the ground in the winter. They are fast-growing, robust
plants, adapted to a wide range of habitats. See also Arieh Tal's Asters and Goldenrods of New England.
Identification: Goldenrod is so common in New England that
it tends to be overlooked, like dandelions, by amateur botanists. Even after I started paying closer
attention, it took another year before I began noticing the differences among the species. At first glance,
they're all more or less the same: stiff upright plants 24-48" (60-121 cm) high, crowned with dense brilliant yellow
flowerheads. Actually, they're often hard to identify even when you do start paying close attention.
The goldenrod photos on this page haven't yet been identified.
Medical: Goldenrod is frequently blamed as the cause of hay fever,
but this is not the case: the real culprit is ragweed. A few people
develop a contact dermatitis from handling goldenrods, though.
Plants are 12-36" (30-91 cm) tall, relatively small for goldenrods.
Plants are 24-72" (60-182 cm) high, relatively large.
Flowers
Flowers are cream-colored (or white or rarely pale yellow, not bright yellow like other Solidagos.) Plant tops may branch into several clusters of vaguely conical flowerheads. Flowers are even around each stem, not just on one side.
Flowerheads appear in clusters along the stem, often with a larger cluster at the top; flowering is from August to October. Individual flowers are ⅛-¼" (4-6.3 mm) in diameter, with 1-6 ray petals and 3-6 disc florets. Flowers are even around each stem, not just on one side.
Several yellow flowerheads, each 3-5" (7.6-12 cm) in length, branch sideways from the main stem, and have flowers on one side only. Individual flowers are less than ⅛" (3.2 mm) around, usually having 8-14 rays and 3-6 disk florets. Flowers bloom July to September.
Leaves
Lower leaves are 2-4" (5-10 cm) long, with shallow teeth and a grayish down. Upper leaves are elliptical, with a single prominent central vein.
Leaves are up to 5" (12 cm) × 1" (2.5 cm) at the base, and smaller further up the stem. They are lance-like ("lanceolate") in shape, sometimes thickening more in the center and becoming more oval ("ovate"). Each leaf has a single prominent central vein.
Leaves are lance-shaped ("lanceolate") and sharply serrated, gray-green, mostly hairless above. They are up to 6" (15 cm) × 1" (2.5 cm) at the base, and progressively smaller up the stem.
Stem
Stems are "hispido-villous"—fancy talk for "having [relatively] long and soft hairs."
Stem is purplish and may be covered with a whitish bloom. It is green when young, becoming blue-gray or purplish-gray with age. Single stems are common, though there may be a few branches.
The main stem is smooth near the base.
Range/ Zones
Habitats
Fields or open forests; disturbed areas.
Moist woods, thickets and clearings
Openings in prairies, forests, thickets, and savannas, wet or dry.
Plants are 24-48" (60-121 cm) tall, usually unbranched, and tolerate partial sun or shade.
3-7' (91-213 cm) tall, erect, in large patches.
Plants are up to 18-48" (45-121 cm) high.
Flowers
Flowerhead at tip is up to 5" (12 cm) long; there are smaller racemes along the upper portion of the stem. Individual flowers are about ¼" (6.3 mm) around. Blooms from July to October.
Flowerheads may be tight and roughly conical, but are often looser, composed of gently curved tiers of up to 600 small yellow flowers.
Flowerheads bend to the left and right, branching heavily. They bloom from June to September. Individual flowers are less than ¼" (6.3 mm) around, with 7-12 rays.
Leaves
Leaves are alternate, oval, with coarse teeth, 2-5" (5-12 cm) × 1-4" (2.5-10 cm). Leaf petioles (stems) are ¼-1½" (6.3-38 mm) long. The leaves narrow quickly at the base, leaving little "wings" on the petiole.
Leaves are narrow (lanceolate), ~3½" (9.1-9.7 cm) × ⅜-½" (1-1.4 cm) (roughly equal in size throughout the plant). They are pointed at both ends, alternate, sessile, with sharp teeth and three veins.
Leaves at base are sharply serrated, but leaves on the upper half of the stem usually lack serrations. They are alternate, up to 8" (20 cm) × 1½" (3.8 cm) at the base, lance-shaped ("lanceolate") or ovate or somewhere in between, and hairless or with tiny hairs just along the margins. Leaves have a single prominent vein, rather than the three parallel veins present in some goldenrods.
Stem
Stems tend to be mildly zig-zagged in shape, light green, and mostly smooth.
Stems are light green or pale purple, hairless, sometimes with a whitish waxy bloom.
The main stem is stiff (the species juncea means "stiff like a rush"), hairless and green or reddish, with small vertical ridges.
Range/ Zones
USDA Zones: 3-8
Habitats
Boundaries of wetlands and shaded floodplains.
Dry open woods, rocky banks, roadsides; acid soils
Plants are 6-30" (15-76 cm) tall, relatively small.
Plants are 24-60" (60-152 cm) high.
Plants are up to 5' (1.5 m) tall.
Flowers
Flowerheads may be narrow, or wider at the base; they are 3-10" (7.6-25 cm) long × 1-4" (2.5-10 cm) wide. Individal flowers are less than ¼" (6.3 mm) around, with 4-9 ray flowers and 3-10 disk florets.
Flowerheads are roughly tubular in shape. Blooms July through October.
A pyramid-shaped group of panicles at the top of the plant, with multiple flowering branches of upward-pointing flowers. (Younger plants may have only a single spike.) Flowers are bright yellow, about ¼" (6.3 mm) around, with a small yellow disk surrounded by 5-10 rays. Flowers appear from July to October.
Leaves
Gray-green, alternate, lance-like ("lanceolate") or sometimes oval, up to 4" (10 cm) × ¾" (1.9 cm), becoming smaller higher on the stem. They are serrated or sometimes smooth. When the serrations are present, they are "crenate-serrate"—sometimes rounded. At the base of each leaf there are often two side-pointing smaller leaflets ("wings"). Fine hairs on the leaves make them feel somewhat rough, like fine sandpaper.
Dark green, with smooth or hairy edges and pointed tips, 1½-4" (4-11 cm) long. They are alternate, sessile, and have a single main vein. Crushed leaves release a scent of anise (licorice).
These lack the rosette of leaves that are at the base of many goldenrods. Leaves are narrow closer to the base of the plant, widening and becoming more oval-shaped toward the top, and usually quite wrinkled in appearance. They are up to 2½" (7 cm) × ¾" (2 cm), and attach directly to the stem ("sessile").
Stem
The main stem is reddish or gray-green, with short grayish-white hairs.
Hairy.
Rough-stemmed goldenrods are named for their hairy, which are light green to brownish red.
Seaside goldenrod's are 24-108" (60-274 cm) tall, relatively tall.
Plants are 24-72" (60-182 cm) high.
18-60" (45-152 cm) high.
Flowers
Flowerheads are dense yellow side-facing panicles 2-5" (5-12 cm) across, with flowers only along the upward-pointing side. Flowers are about ¼-⅜" (6.3-9.5 mm) around, somewhat larger than those of most goldenrods, with 8-10 rays. They appear from October to November, and sometimes in the spring.
Flowerheads are erect and upright, conical in shape, up to 12" (30 cm) at the top of the stem, with tight clusters of tiny yellow flowers. Each flower is about ¼" (6.3 mm) across, and has 4-10 petals (ray florets) and a tiny central disk flower. Flowers appear from August to October.
In long clusters at top of each stem. Individual flowers closely attached to stem, with 10-16 rays each. At the base of each flower are green back-curved tiny leaflets (bracts), a key identifying feature.
Leaves
Fleshy, waxy, gray-green, salt-adapted leaves—a major identifying feature. Leaves have smooth edges, and are oblong or lance-shaped. They alternate along the stem, are 2-3" (5-7.6 cm) long × ½" (1.3 cm) wide, and attach directly to the stem ("sessile"); leaves at the base are 3-5" (7.6-12 cm) long.
Leaves are 6" (15 cm) × 1½" (3.8 cm), long and narrow ("lanceolate") or somewhat wider at the center ("narrowly ovate"). Upper leaves are much smaller. Leaf edges are usually smooth and leaves are hairless.
Egg-shaped, and toothed. They usually form a rosette of large leaves at the base. Leaves along the upper stem are small and narrow.
Stem
Somewhat woody.
Usually a single, unbranched stem that is usually reddish, sometimes green.
Stiffly erect, often red.
Range/ Zones
USDA Zones: 3-11
USDA Zones: 3-8
Habitats
Sandy salt marsh soils
Openings in prairies, forests, thickets, and savannas, slightly wet or dry.
Plants are perennials, and are 24-60" (60-152 cm) high.
10-39" (25-100 cm) in height.
12-48" (30-121 cm) tall, often branched only slightly, sometimes heavily-branched and bushy.
Flowers
Yellow flowerheads up to 7" (17 cm) long, form a tight conical cluster at the top. Individual flowers have 1-8 petals.
Flowerheads are flat-topped or rounded, often multiply layered, with tiny yellow flowers, blooming from Aug-Dec.
Large, flat-topped or umbrella-shaped yellow flower clusters. Each flower in the flowerhead is ⅛" (3.2 mm) across. Flowerheads tend to bloom gradually, not all at once, emitting a modest, sweet scent.
Leaves
Leaves at base of are large—up to 12" (30 cm) long and about ⅛ as wide, and finely toothed. Leaves are smooth on top. The base of each leaf is clasping.
Linear, like grass blades, abundant, typically bent downward or backward (deflexed). ⅞-2½" (2.4-7 cm) long and ¹/₃₂-⅛" (1-3 mm) wide, (up to ⅛" (6 mm)) and smooth. Leaves have resinous dots.
Lance-shaped leaves contain 3 veins running along the length of the vein. Sometimes there is 1 or 5 veins, depending on leaf size. Leaves are 3-6" (7.6-15 cm) × ⅛-⅝" (3.2-15 mm), resembling grass blades, and attached directly to the stem ("sessile"). Leaves have resinous dots.
Stem
Stems are round, not four-sided as in some goldenrods, and smooth.
Stems are branched partway up, smooth, without a waxy bluish coating (technically, glabrous or glabrate, not glaucous).
Stems typically have rows of fine white hairs.
Range/ Zones
Habitats
Bogs and swamps.
Type
Wild
Wild
Wild
Goldenrod (Solidago) · 8/25/2009 · Nashua River Rail Trail, East Pepperell, Massachusetts ≈ 7 × 9" (18 × 22 cm) Species not yet identified
Goldenrod (Solidago) · 9/19/2009 · Acadia National Park, Bar Harbor, Maine ≈ 12 × 8" (31 × 20 cm) Species not yet identified
Goldenrod (Solidago) · 9/3/2009 · Nashua River Rail Trail, Ayer, Massachusetts ≈ 6 × 4" (15 × 10 cm) Species not yet identified
Goldenrod (Solidago) · 10/4/2008 · Parker River National Wildlife Refuge, Plum Island, Massachusetts ≈ 4 × 6" (10 × 15 cm) Species not yet identified
Goldenrod (Solidago) · 8/1/2009 · Gordon & Kathy’s, Prospect, Maine ≈ 27 × 18" (67 × 45 cm) Species not yet identified
(Solidago) · 10/6/2011 · Pack Monadnock, 2200', Peterborough, New Hampshire ≈ 12 × 14" (29 × 36 cm) Species not yet identified
Goldenrod (Solidago) · 8/1/2009 · Gordon & Kathy’s, Prospect, Maine ≈ 7 × 5" (19 × 12 cm) Species not yet identified
Solidago description by Thomas H. Kent, last updated 11 Jul 2023.
Goldenrod (Solidago) · 9/19/2009 · Acadia National Park, Bar Harbor, Maine ≈ 16 × 21" (41 × 52 cm) Species not yet identified
(Solidago) · 9/11/2010 · Nashua River Rail Trail, Groton Center, Groton, Massachusetts ≈ 5 × 3½" (13 × 9.2 cm) Species not yet identified
Goldenrod (Solidago) · The galls are created by a fruit fly, Eurosta solidaginis · 6/26/2012 · Nashua River Rail Trail, Dunstable, Dunstable, Massachusetts ≈ 11 × 15" (27 × 37 cm) Species not yet identified
Goldenrod (Solidago) · 8/4/2009 · Near Nashoba Hospital, Ayer, Massachusetts ≈ 4½ × 6" (11 × 16 cm) Species not yet identified
Goldenrod (Solidago) · 9/5/2010 · Nashua River Rail Trail, near Nashoba Hospital, Ayer, Massachusetts ≈ 9 × 7" (22 × 18 cm) ID is dubious
Goldenrod (Solidago) · 8/4/2006 · Sterling Falls Gorge, Stowe, Vermont Species not yet identified
Species not yet identified 
ID is dubious 
