Showy Goldenrod, Solidago spectabilis

About Showy Goldenrod (Solidago spectabilis) 1 Nurseries Carry This Plant

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Solidago spectabilis is a species of goldenrod known by the common names Nevada goldenrod, basin goldenrod, and showy goldenrod. It is native to the western United States in the Great Basin and surrounding areas. It is found in California, Arizona, Nevada, Oregon, and Utah. There are historical records saying it once grew in southwestern Idaho, but is now extirpated there. Solidago spectabilis grows in moist habitat, including bogs, meadows, seeps, streambanks, hot springs, and wet areas on alkali flats. It is a rhizomatous perennial herb producing one or more erect stems that can reach two meters (5 feet) in maximum height. It is mostly hairless but can have occasional patches of rough hairs. There is a basal rosette of fleshy, lance-shaped leaves measuring up to 25 centimeters (10 inches), the blades borne on winged petioles. The edges may be wavy or slightly toothed. Leaves farther up the stem are smaller and usually smooth-edged. The inflorescence is a large erect or arching array of many flower heads, with some containing up to 100 heads. Each flower head contains 8-22 yellow disc florets surrounded 5-15 narrow yellow ray florets each no more than 4 millimeters long.

Plant Description

Plant Type

Perennial herb

Size

3.3 - 6.6 ft tall

Flower Color

Yellow

Wildlife Supported

Butterflies & moths hosted ( 24 likely * ) SHOW ALL

Northern Checkerspot Chlosyne pallaChlosyne palla

Sierra Nevada Checkerspot Chlosyne whitneyiChlosyne whitneyi

Field Crescent Phyciodes pulchellaPhyciodes pulchella

White-lined Sphinx Hyles lineataHyles lineata

Wavy-Lined Emerald Synchlora aerataSynchlora aerata

Common Gray Anavitrinella pampinariaAnavitrinella pampinaria

Common Eupithacia Eupithecia miserulataEupithecia miserulata

Landscaping Information

Sun

Full Sun

Nurseries

Carried by 1

Common uses

Groundcovers, Bee Gardens

Natural Setting

Site Type

Wet places, alkaline meadows

Climate

Annual Precipitation: 4.1" - 68.9", Summer Precipitation: 0.25" - 2.74", Coldest Month: 23.3" - 55.6", Hottest Month: 46.5" - 84.6", Humidity: 0.52" - 40.18", Elevation: 404" - 10369"

Alternative Names

Common Names: Basin Goldenrod, Nevada Goldenrod

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Sources include: Wikipedia. All text shown in the "About" section of these pages is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License. Plant observation data provided by the participants of the California Consortia of Herbaria, Sunset information provided by Jepson Flora Project. Propogation from seed information provided by the Santa Barbara Botanical Garden from "Seed Propagation of Native California Plants" by Dara E. Emery. Sources of plant photos include CalPhotos, Wikimedia Commons, and independent plant photographers who have agreed to share their images with Calscape. Other general sources of information include Calflora, CNPS Manual of Vegetation Online, Jepson Flora Project, Las Pilitas, Theodore Payne, Tree of Life, The Xerces Society, and information provided by CNPS volunteer editors, with special thanks to Don Rideout. Climate data used in creation of plant range maps is from PRISM Climate Group, Oregon State University, using 30 year (1981-2010) annual "normals" at an 800 meter spatial resolution.

Links: Jepson eFlora Taxon Page CalPhotos Wikipedia Calflora

Showy Goldenrod

Solidago spectabilis

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Showy GoldenrodSolidago spectabilis

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Showy Goldenrod

Solidago spectabilis