Solidago gigantea (Smooth Goldenrod)

Solidago gigantea

Solidago gigantea Aiton

Aster latissimifolius (Mill.) Kuntze var. serotinus Kuntze

Solidago gigantea Aiton ssp. serotina (Kuntze) McNeill

Solidago gigantea Aiton var. leiophylla Fernald

Solidago gigantea Aiton var. pitcheri (Nutt.) Shinners

Solidago gigantea Aiton var. serotina (Kuntze) Cronquist

Solidago gigantea Aiton var. shinnersii Beaudry

Solidago ×leiophallax Friesner

Solidago pitcheri Nutt.

Solidago serotina Aiton non Retz.

Solidago serotinoides A. Löve & D. Löve

Smooth Goldenrod, Giant 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	gigantea	Very large: from Giganteus, “of or belonging to the giants”

About plant names...

Giant goldenrod is a North American native. For a comparison chart of some of the varieties of goldenrods, see Solidago.

Identification: Plants are 3-7' (91-213 cm) tall, erect. They are fond of boundaries of wetlands and shaded floodplains. Stems are light green or pale purple, hairless, sometimes with a whitish waxy bloom. They occur in large patches. Leaves are narrow (lanceolate), ~3½" (9.1-9.7 cm) × ⅜-½" (1-1.4 cm) (roughly equal in size throughout the plant). They are pointed at both ends, alternate, sessile, with sharp teeth and three veins. Flowerheads may be tight and roughly conical, but are often looser, composed of gently curved tiers of up to 600 small yellow flowers.

Online References:

Solidago gigantea at Illinois Wildflowers

Solidago gigantea at the University of Wisconsin's Robert W. Freckmann Herbarium

Solidago gigantea on Turner Photographics' Wildflowers site

Solidago gigantea at the U.S. Geological Survey's Northern Prairie Wildlife Research Center

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

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

Solidago gigantea on eFloras

References:

Clemants, Steven; Gracie, Carol, Wildflowers in the Field and Forest, Oxford University Press, 2006, p. 156

8/23/2013 · Andres Institute of Art, Brookline, NH
≈ 5 × 5" (12 × 12 cm) ID is uncertain

8/23/2013 · Andres Institute of Art, Brookline, NH
≈ 7 × 4½" (18 × 12 cm) ID is uncertain

8/11/2010 · Nashua River Rail Trail, Groton, MA
≈ 12 × 8" (31 × 20 cm) ID is uncertain

8/24/2013 · Cranberry Meadow Pond Trail, Monadnock Conservancy, Peterborough, NH
≈ 6 × 8" (14 × 20 cm)

Solidago gigantea description by Thomas H. Kent, last updated 12 Oct 2018.

8/23/2013 · Andres Institute of Art, Brookline, NH
≈ 4½ × 7" (12 × 18 cm) ID is uncertain

8/11/2010 · Nashua River Rail Trail, Groton, MA
≈ 11 × 11" (27 × 27 cm) ID is uncertain

8/24/2013 · Cranberry Meadow Pond Trail, Monadnock Conservancy, Peterborough, NH
≈ 6 × 8" (14 × 20 cm)

8/24/2013 · Cranberry Meadow Pond Trail, Monadnock Conservancy, Peterborough, NH
≈ 8 × 6" (20 × 14 cm)

8/23/2013 · Andres Institute of Art, Brookline, NH
≈ 4½ × 5" (12 × 13 cm) ID is uncertain

Range:

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