Showy goldenrod

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Showy goldenrod

Showy goldenrod inflorescence

Showy goldenrod inflorescence

Showy goldenrod leaf

Showy goldenrod

Showy goldenrod

Showy goldenrod florets

Showy goldenrod

Showy goldenrod

Showy goldenrod

Showy goldenrod stem

Showy goldenrod inflorescence

Showy goldenrod

Showy goldenrod leaves

Morphology

Stem

Erect or ascending, 1 to several, stout, reddish, fine longitudinal ridges, smooth below, often minutely hairy above.

Leaves

Alternate, simple, numerous, firm; surfaces nearly glabrous, lower surface with 1 prominent vein; tip bluntly to sharply pointed; basal and lower leaves short-stalked, lanceolate to ovate-elliptic, 2 to 12 inches long, .5 to 3 inches wide; margins toothed or entire; lowermost leaves often absent at flowering; mid- to upper stem leaves narrowly ovate to lanceolate or elliptic, 1 to 3.6 inches long, .2 to 1.2 inch wide, progressively reduced upward, becoming sessile.

Inflorescence

Panicle-like, erect, dense, narrow, elongate, 2 to 18 inches long, 1 to 4 inches broad, club-shaped or pyramidal column, terminal; branches often numerous, ascending, crowded or sometimes loose and open; heads 15-300+, on conspicuous stalks, oriented in multiple directions.

Flower

Involucre narrowly bell-shaped, 1/8 to 1/4 inch tall; bracts unequal, mostly oblong, keeled, yellowish, over-lapping in 3-4 series; tips bluntly pointed to rounded; ray florets 3-9, 1/6 to 1/5 inch long, yellow; disk florets 6-11, 1/12 to 1/6 inch long, corollas yellow.

Fruit

Achene, narrowly egg-shaped, 1/25 to 1/12 inch long, glabrous, tipped with numerous white bristles to 1/8 inch long, enclosing small seed.

Ecology

Habitat

Open woods, prairies, fields, roadsides; dry, sandy or rocky soils.

Distribution

East 1/2 of Kansas.

Practical Information

Uses

Native Americans used an infusion of the roots to treat burns, difficult childbirths and lung hemorrhages. The roots and stalks were mixed with bear fat and utilized as a hair ointment. The roots and stalks were boiled to make a warm poultice that was applied to sore muscles and sprains.

Additional Notes