Solidago canadensis L.
Canada goldenrod
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 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:
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 Solidago canadensis description by Thomas H. Kent, last updated 25 May 2020. © FloraFinder.org. All rights reserved. |
The visitor is a cuckoo wasp (from the Chrysididae family) · 8/17/2013 · Hopkinton State Park, Hopkinton, Massachusetts 9/28/2013 · Wild Gardens of Acadia, Acadia Naitonal Park, Bar Harbor, Maine 8/17/2013 · Hopkinton State Park, Hopkinton, Massachusetts 9/20/2009 · Wild Gardens of Acadia, Acadia National Park, Bar Harbor, Maine The panicles are characteristically lopsided. · 8/17/2013 · Hopkinton State Park, Hopkinton, Massachusetts Range:
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