Downy goldenrod

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Downy goldenrod

Downy goldenrod in late winter

Downy goldenrod heads

Downy goldenrod

Downy goldenrod

Downy goldenrod florets

Downy goldenrod

Downy goldenrod leaves

Downy goldenrod inflorescence

Downy goldenrod inflorescence

Morphology

Stem

Erect, solitary or clustered, nearly glabrous below, short-hairy above.

Leaves

Numerous, alternate, simple, short-stalked to sessile, lance-linear to narrowly ovate, 1 to 6 inches long, .25 to 1.25 inches wide, thick, firm, glabrous or pubescent; margins entire to toothed, fringed with minute hairs; basal leaves absent at flowering; stem leaves about equal in size, scarcely reduced upward.

Inflorescence

Narrow, somewhat elongate, cylindric; usually leafy-bracted; lower branches not downward curving; heads borne on both sides of branches, to 1/3 inch tall; bracts pointed, lightly pubescent to glandular-hairy or sometimes glabrous.

Flower

Ray florets 5-11, yellow; disk florets 10-16, yellow.

Fruit

Achenes, glabrous, tipped with numerous white bristles, enclosing small seed.

Ecology

Habitat

Open rocky woodlands and escarpments, on sandy or limestone sites.

Distribution

East 3/4 of Kansas.

Additional Notes