Solidago canadensis (Canada goldenrod)

Solidago canadensis L.

Canada goldenrod

Kingdom	Plantae	Plants, but not fungi, lichens, or algae
Subkingdom	Tracheobionta	Vascular plants—plants with a “circulatory system” for delivering water and nutrients
Division	Magnoliophyta	Flowering plants, also known as angiosperms
Class	Magnoliopsida	Dicotyledons—plants with two initial seed leaves
Subclass	Asteridae	A large class that encompasses asters
Order	Asterales	Flowering plants with a central disk flower and surrounding petals, like daisies
Family	Asteraceae	The aster family, which also includes daisies and sunflowers; from the Greek ἀστήρ, “star,” for the star-shaped flowers
Genus	Solidago	From Latin solido, “to make whole or heal,” because it was believed these species had healing properties
Species	canadensis	“Of or from Canada”

About plant names...

Canada goldenrods are natives of North America. For a comparison chart of some of the varieties of goldenrods, see Solidago.

Identification: Plants are 24-72" (60-182 cm) high. The main stem is smooth near the base, with rows of soft small hairs nearer the top. Leaves are lance-shaped (“lanceolate”) and sharply serrated, gray-green, mostly hairless above, hairy below. They are up to 6" (15 cm) × 1" (2.5 cm) at the base, and progressively smaller up the stem. Several yellow flowerheads, each 3-5" (7.6-12 cm) in length, branch sideways from the main stem, and have flowers on one side only. Individual flowers are less than ⅛" (3.2 mm) around, usually having 8-14 rays and 3-6 disk florets. Flowers bloom July to September.

The insect who looks like an escapee from the Emerald City is a cuckoo wasp. Cuckoo wasps are frequently mistaken for sweat bees (also called halictid bees), as both are colorful and about the same size. Here is an excellent comparison.

Edibility: Not edible.

Online References:

Solidago canadensis at Illinois Wildflowers

Solidago canadensis on

Solidago canadensis on Plants for a Future, a resource and information centre for edible and otherwise useful plants

Solidago canadensis on the Connecticut Botanical Society's Connecticut wildflowers site

Solidago canadensis on the USDA Forest Service's Fire Effects Information Database

Solidago canadensis on eFloras

References:

Newcomb, Lawrence, Morrison, Gordon (Illus.), Newcomb’s Wildflower Guide, Little, Brown and Company, 1977, p. 448

Peterson, Roger Tory, McKenny, Margaret, Peterson Field Guides: A Field Guide to Wildflowers of Northeastern and North Central North America, Houghton Mifflin, 1968, p. 190

Thierer, John W., Niering, William A, Olmstead, Nancy C., National Audabon Society Field Guide to North American Wildflowers, Eastern Region, Alfred A. Knopf, 2001, p. 414

Brandenburg, David M., National Wildlife Federation Field Guide to Wildflowers of North America, Andrew Stuart Publishing, Inc., 2010, p. 135

Turner, Mark, Gustafson, Phyllis, Wildflowers of the Pacific Northwest, Timber Press, 2006, p. 262

Spellenberg, Richard, National Audabon Society Field Guide to Wildflowers, Western Region, Alfred A. Knopf, 2001, p. 321, 397

9/28/2013 · Wild Gardens of Acadia, Acadia Naitonal Park, Bar Harbor, Maine
≈ 4½ × 7" (11 × 17 cm)

Solidago canadensis description by Thomas H. Kent, last updated 25 May 2020.

The visitor is a cuckoo wasp (from the Chrysididae family) · 8/17/2013 · Hopkinton State Park, Hopkinton, Massachusetts
≈ 1¼ × 1" (3.5 × 2.5 cm)

9/28/2013 · Wild Gardens of Acadia, Acadia Naitonal Park, Bar Harbor, Maine
≈ 4½ × 7" (11 × 16 cm)

8/17/2013 · Hopkinton State Park, Hopkinton, Massachusetts
≈ 9 × 6" (23 × 15 cm)

9/20/2009 · Wild Gardens of Acadia, Acadia National Park, Bar Harbor, Maine
≈ 14 × 9" (35 × 23 cm)

The panicles are characteristically lopsided. · 8/17/2013 · Hopkinton State Park, Hopkinton, Massachusetts
≈ 7 × 5" (18 × 13 cm)

Range:

About this map...