MISSOURI GOLDENROD
File Size: 104 KB
 
Solidago missouriensis  Nutt.
Konza Prairie, Riley County, Kansas
Perennial
Height: 1-3 feet
Family: Asteraceae - Sunflower Family
Flowering Period:   July, August, September,October
Also Called: Prairie goldenrod.
Stems: Erect or ascending, single or clustered, usually unbranched, glabrous.
Leaves: Alternate, simple, mostly sessile, linear-lanceolate to oblanceolate, 2 to 5 inches long, 1/4 to 1 inch wide, conspicuously 3-nerved, somewhat rigid, glabrous; margins entire to toothed; tips pointed; smaller leaves often clustered in axils; upper leaves reduced; lower leaves often absent at flowering.
Inflorescences: Panicle-like, usually wider than tall, terminal; lower branches downward curving; heads only on upper side of branches, less than 1/5 inch wide; bracts firm, greenish; tips broadly rounded.
Flowers: Ray florets 7-13, less than 1/5 inch long, yellow; disk florets 8-13, yellow.
Fruits: Achenes, tiny, glabrous or sparsely hairy, tipped with numerous white bristles, enclosing small seed.
Habitat: Dry open prairies and roadsides.
Distribution: Throughout Kansas.
Uses: Native Americans relieved toothaches by chewing goldenrod roots.
Comments: The earliest blooming goldenrod. Its roots can reach 6 feet long. Missouri goldenrod increases in overgrazed pastures.

Missouri goldenrod leaves
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Konza Prairie, Riley County, Kansas
Missouri goldenrod heads
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Riley County, Kansas
Missouri goldenrod inflorescence
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Riley County, Kansas
Missouri goldenrod
196 KB
Konza Prairie, Riley County, Kansas