Scientific Family
Asteraceae
Synonyms
Aster baccharoides, Euthamia californica, E. linearifolia, Haplopppus baccaroides, Solidago lanceolata, S. occidentalis
Other common names
western goldenrod
western flat-topped goldenrod
grass-leaf goldenrod
Plant type
Forbs and Subshrubs
Origin
Native
Lifecycle
Perennial
Height
To about 6-1/2 feet
Riparian
Yes
Much-branched spreading to upright plant with thick grayish-green stems growing from horizontal underground stems (rhizomes). Narrow leaves are 3 to 5 veined with many glands. Flowering stalk is a dense, flat-topped cluster of numerous yellow flowerheads.
Stems stout, spreading, ascending to erect, much branched; leaves gland-dotted, 3 to 5 veined, 10 to 27 times longer than wide; ray flowers outnumber disc flowers; flowers in narrow, elongated clusters, bracts light yellowish-brown, often green-tipped.
Habitat
Moist to wet soils of lake shores, ponds, along rivers, streambeds, meadows, freshwater to saline marshes and irrigation ditches. Often grows in association with cattails, rushes and sedges.
Plant Community
Riparian
Disturbed Areas
Low elevation
4500
High elevation
7000
Flower Characteristics
Flowerheads are united into loose clusters at the ends of slim branches. Each flowerhead in the cluster consists of 15 to 25 strap-shaped flowers (ray florets) about 1/16 inch long which surround the 7 to 18 tube-like flowers (disc florets) in the center.
Flower color
Yellow
Flower shape
Daisy or dandelion-like
Tubular
No
First bloom month
August
Last bloom month
September
Flower clusters
Elongated
Leaf and Stem Characteristics
Leaves are stalkless and much longer than wide growing to 4 inches long and from 1/8 to 1/2 inch wide. The leaf margins are rough to the touch (scabrous) due to the presence of short stiff hairs. The upper leaf surface and veins are often sparsely hairy.
Leaf type
Simple
Leaf color
Grayish-green
Leaf shape
Narrow
Leaf margin
Smooth
Leaves clasp
No
Leaf hairs
Leaves
Spines
No
Fruit and Seed Characteristics
The fruit is brown, dry, 1-seeded, narrowly cone-shaped and less than 1/16 inch. It has a light brown to white, bristly parachute-like tuft of hairs (pappus) that is about the length of the fruit and is attached at the wider end aiding in wind dispersal.
Fruit type
Achene
Fruit color
Brown
1 seed is produced by the fruit. The fruit does not open at maturity to release the seed.