Solidago lancifolia (Torr. & Gray) Chapman

Locations ofSolidago lancifolia (Torr. & Gray) Chapman in Virginia

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Detail

Family
Asteraceae
Botanical Name
Solidago lancifolia (Torr. & Gray) Chapman
Common Name
Lance-leaf Goldenrod
Synonym(s)
Flora of Virginia Name/Status
Solidago lancifolia (Torr. & Gray) Chapman
Comments
Solidago lancifolia is a decaploid (10x) species of the higher Southern Appalachians, reaching its northern limits on the Southern Blue Ridge of Virginia. It is locally abundant in the high-elevation Balsam Mountains on Whitetop, Elk Garden Ridge, and Haw Orchard Mountain, and may be more widely distributed in that area, but further study is required to confirm this. Similar plants with some multinerved involucral bracts are known from Elliott Knob and Mountain Lake but have been redetermined as S. curtisii (F. Levy, pers. comm.). In gross morphology, S. lancifolia is similar to S. curtisii but is generally stouter (70-120 cm tall), with larger involucres. More importantly, it is strongly colonial from thick, creeping rhizomes, and has glandular involucres, both characters absent in S. curtisii; see photos. The species can be recognized in the field by its dense colonies, which contain large numbers of vegetative shoots in addition to flowering stems. Where it grows on exposed, shallow-soiled balds, ramets can be exceptionally short (20-30 cm), with flowers confined to the uppermost axils and superficially resembling a thyrsoid species. For a comprehensive, revised treatment of this species, see Levy F. and J.T. Donaldson. 2018. Morphology, geographic distribution, and conservation status of the Southern Appalachian endemic, Solidago lancifolia. Jour. Torr. Bot. Soc. 145: 281-295.
Habitat
Northern hardwood forests and balds. Rare, sw. mountains; known only from the Mount Rogers-Whitetop-Grayson Highlands (Balsam Mountains) area of the Southern Blue Ridge; may be locally abundant where found.
Native Status
Native

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