Euthamia floribunda Greene

Locations ofEuthamia floribunda Greene in Virginia

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Detail

Family
Asteraceae
Botanical Name
Euthamia floribunda Greene
Common Name
Mid-Atlantic Flat-top Goldenrod
Synonym(s)
Euthamia hirtipes (Fernald) Sieren; Euthamia ×hirtipes (Fernald) Sieren; Solidago ×hirtipes Fernald
Flora of Virginia Name/Status
Euthamia hirtipes (Fern.) Sieren
Comments
In his comprehensive revision of Euthamia (2021-34 Phytoneuron 1-182), Nesom has reinterpreted the controversial taxon known as Euthamia hirtipes or E. x hirtipes. This taxon has been variously considered a species, a hybrid, or merely a form of E. graminifolia. As circumscribed by Nesom, it is a Mid-Atlantic Coastal Plain endemic ranging from e. Pennsylvania and New Jersey to n. North Carolina. Although the name E. hirtipes has been misapaplied to plants of E. weakleyi (see account), Nesom points out that Fernald’s type of Solidago x hirtipes from Sussex County, Virginia (Rhodora 48: 65, 1946), is virtually identical to the type of E. floribunda from New Jersey.

This is a moderately to densely hirtellous plant with axillary leaf fascicles and stem leaves only slightly larger than those of E. carolinianum. Thus it is more or less intermediate between the latter and E. graminifolia var. nuttallii, and was considered by Fernald to be a probable hybrid between the two. Alternatively, E. floribunda could be a stabilized, hybrid-origin species. Either way, its appropriate rank and treatment remain somewhat obscure and in need of systematic molecular study. See Nesom (2021) for a morphological description, comparison with similar species, and list of supporting specimens from Virginia and elsewhere. The map presented here is based on Nesom’s map and specimen citations.
Habitat
Virginia collections are from low forest borders, brackish marshes, peaty and argillaceous clearings, sandy swales, and bogs. The records are from the Eastern Shore and southeastern Virginia. Its status is uncertain, but it does not appear to be frequent or common.
Native Status
Native

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