''Solidago rigida'', known by the common names stiff goldenrod and stiff-leaved goldenrod, is a North American plant species in the family
Asteraceae
The family Asteraceae, alternatively Compositae, consists of over 32,000 known species of flowering plants in over 1,900 genera within the order Asterales. Commonly referred to as the aster, daisy, composite, or sunflower family, Compositae w ...
. It has a widespread distribution in Canada and the United States, where it is found primarily east of the
Rocky Mountains
The Rocky Mountains, also known as the Rockies, are a major mountain range and the largest mountain system in North America. The Rocky Mountains stretch in straight-line distance from the northernmost part of western Canada, to New Mexico in ...
. It is typically found in open, dry areas associated with calcareous or sandy soil. Habitats include prairies, savannas, and glades.
Description
''Soliadgo rigida'' is a tall, leafy
perennial
A perennial plant or simply perennial is a plant that lives more than two years. The term ('' per-'' + '' -ennial'', "through the years") is often used to differentiate a plant from shorter-lived annuals and biennials. The term is also wid ...
. Its leathery leaves are large for a goldenrod, reaching wide and long. It produces heads of yellow flowers in the late summer and fall.
[ Its fruit is a wind-dispersed achene.
]
Subspecies
;Subspecies[
*''Solidago rigida'' subsp. ''glabrata'' (E.L.Braun) S.B.Heard & Semple – southeastern + south-central U.S.
*''Solidago rigida'' subsp. ''humilis'' (Porter) S.B.Heard & Semple – central + western Canada, central + western United States as far west as the ]Rocky Mountains
The Rocky Mountains, also known as the Rockies, are a major mountain range and the largest mountain system in North America. The Rocky Mountains stretch in straight-line distance from the northernmost part of western Canada, to New Mexico in ...
*''Solidago rigida'' subsp. ''rigida'' – Ontario
Ontario ( ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada.Ontario is located in the geographic eastern half of Canada, but it has historically and politically been considered to be part of Central Canada. Located in Central Ca ...
, central + eastern U.S.
File:Solidago rigida glabrata.jpg, Subspecies ''glabrata'' has hairless outer phyllaries, and a less pubescent stem and leaves
Conservation
This species is considered by NatureServe to be globally "secure" (G5), which is the lowest level of conservation concern assigned. However, it is known to be rare on the local level, due to its declining grassland habitat. It is listed as endangered in Connecticut
Connecticut () is the southernmost state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It is bordered by Rhode Island to the east, Massachusetts to the north, New York to the west, and Long Island Sound to the south. Its cap ...
, New Jersey
New Jersey is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern regions of the United States. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York; on the east, southeast, and south by the Atlantic Ocean; on the west by the Delaware ...
and Pennsylvania
Pennsylvania (; ( Pennsylvania Dutch: )), officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a state spanning the Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes regions of the United States. It borders Delaware to its southeast, ...
. It is listed as endangered and extirpated
Local extinction, also known as extirpation, refers to a species (or other taxon) of plant or animal that ceases to exist in a chosen geographic area of study, though it still exists elsewhere. Local extinctions are contrasted with global extinct ...
in Maryland
Maryland ( ) is a state in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. It shares borders with Virginia, West Virginia, and the District of Columbia to its south and west; Pennsylvania to its north; and Delaware and the Atlantic Ocean to ...
, as threatened in New York, and as historical in Rhode Island
Rhode Island (, like ''road'') is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It is the List of U.S. states by area, smallest U.S. state by area and the List of states and territories of the United States ...
.
Native American ethnobotany
The Ojibwe
The Ojibwe, Ojibwa, Chippewa, or Saulteaux are an Anishinaabe people in what is currently southern Canada, the northern Midwestern United States, and Northern Plains.
According to the U.S. census, in the United States Ojibwe people are one of ...
use a decoction
Decoction is a method of extraction by boiling herbal or plant material (which may include stems, roots, bark and rhizomes) to dissolve the chemicals of the material. It is the most common preparation method in various herbal-medicine systems. Dec ...
of root as an enema
An enema, also known as a clyster, is an injection of fluid into the lower bowel by way of the rectum.Cullingworth, ''A Manual of Nursing, Medical and Surgical'':155 The word enema can also refer to the liquid injected, as well as to a device ...
, and take an infusion
Infusion is the process of extracting chemical compounds or flavors from plant material in a solvent such as water, oil or alcohol, by allowing the material to remain suspended in the solvent over time (a process often called steeping). An in ...
of the root to treat "stoppage of urine". The Meskwaki
The Meskwaki (sometimes spelled Mesquaki), also known by the European exonyms Fox Indians or the Fox, are a Native American people. They have been closely linked to the Sauk people of the same language family. In the Meskwaki language, th ...
make the flowers into a lotion and use them on bee stings and for swollen faces.[Smith, Huron H., 1928, Ethnobotany of the Meskwaki Indians, Bulletin of the Public Museum of the City of Milwaukee 4:175-326, page 217218 (Note: This source comes from the Native American ethnobotany database (http://naeb.brit.org/) which lists the plant as Oligoneuron rigidum var. rigidum. Accessed 19 January 2018]
References
{{Taxonbar, from=Q15568528
rigida
Plants described in 1753
Flora of Canada
Flora of the United States
Taxa named by Carl Linnaeus