Old-Field Goldenrod     Solidago nemoralis


Description: Old-Field Goldenrod is a native warm-season perennial belonging to the family Asteraceae or aster family  

 

Leaf: Alternate leaves progressively reduced upward along and stem, and the stems and leaves covered with dense, short gray hairs, giving the entire plant a gray-green appearance. 

 

Flower: The flowers are in a narrow, elongate spray at the top of the plant, with small heads along the tops of short, arching side branches. Each head is less than 1\4” wide, with fewer than 10 yellow, petal-like ray flowers surrounding about 3-6 smalls, tubular, yellow disk flowers. 

 

Blooming months: July-September 

 

Stem: Stems unbranched below the flower heads 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Discussion:

 

Distribution: Common in dry prairies prairie pastures, and old fields, especially in sandy and rocky soils, throughout the tall grass region.  

 

Native or Introduced to Illinois: Native

 

Location: N41048.677’ W089040.972’

 

Copyright: © 2004 Nancy Trainor, Challand Middle School, Sterling, Illinois

                                ntrainor@sterlingschools.org

References:

Keller, Carolyn. Prairie Plants of Whiteside County, Whiteside IL County Natural Area Guardians, 1991.

Ladd, Doug. Tallgrass Prairie Wildflowers, The Nature Conservancy, 1995.

Peterson, Roger Tory. Wildflowers Northeastern/North Central North America, Houghton Mifflin Company, Boston, 1968.

Mohlenbroch, Robert H., and John W. Voigt. Prairie Plants of Illinois, Department of Conservation.

http://plants.usda.gov/

 

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