''Solidago ulmifolia'', commonly known as elmleaf goldenrod, is a North American species of goldenrod 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 is found in Canada (

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 ...

and

Nova Scotia Nova Scotia ( ; ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada. It is one of the three Maritime provinces and one of the four Atlantic provinces. Nova Scotia is Latin for "New Scotland". Most of the population are native Eng ...

) and the eastern and central United States (from

Maine Maine () is a state in the New England and Northeastern regions of the United States. It borders New Hampshire to the west, the Gulf of Maine to the southeast, and the Canadian provinces of New Brunswick and Quebec to the northeast and north ...

west to

Minnesota Minnesota () is a state in the upper midwestern region of the United States. It is the 12th largest U.S. state in area and the 22nd most populous, with over 5.75 million residents. Minnesota is home to western prairies, now given over to ...

, south as far as

Texas Texas (, ; Spanish language, Spanish: ''Texas'', ''Tejas'') is a state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. At 268,596 square miles (695,662 km2), and with more than 29.1 million residents in 2 ...

and the

Florida Panhandle The Florida Panhandle (also West Florida and Northwest Florida) is the northwestern part of the U.S. state of Florida; it is a Salient (geography), salient roughly long and wide, lying between Alabama on the north and the west, Georgia (U. ...

). Its natural habitat is thin woodlands and bluffs, often over

calcareous Calcareous () is an adjective meaning "mostly or partly composed of calcium carbonate", in other words, containing lime or being chalky. The term is used in a wide variety of scientific disciplines. In zoology ''Calcareous'' is used as an adje ...

substrates. In Florida, it is found in moist hammock communities. This species is found in both high quality and degraded habitats, such as the shaded edges of lawns and old fields.

Description

''Solidago ulmifolia'' is a perennial herb up to 120 cm (4 feet) tall, with a woody underground

caudex A caudex (plural: caudices) of a plant is a stem, but the term is also used to mean a rootstock and particularly a basal stem structure from which new growth arises.pages 456 and 695 In the strict sense of the term, meaning a stem, "caudex" is m ...

. One plant can produce as many as 150 small yellow flower heads in a large, open, branching array at the top of the plant.Flora of North America, ''Solidago ulmifolia'' Muhlenberg ex Willdenow, 1803. Elm-leaf goldenrod
/ref> Flowering occurs in late summer and fall.

Galls

This species is host to the following insect induced galls: * '' Epiblema scudderiana'' (Clemens, 1860) * ''

Eurosta solidaginis The goldenrod gall fly (''Eurosta solidaginis''), also known as the goldenrod ball gallmaker, is a species of fly native to North America. The species is best known for the characteristic galls it forms on several species in the ''Solidago'', or ...

'' (Fitch, 1855) * ''

Gnorimoschema gallaesolidaginis ''Gnorimoschema gallaesolidaginis'', the solidago gall moth, goldenrod gall moth or goldenrod gallmaker, is a moth in the family Gelechiidae. It was described by Riley in 1869. It is found in North America, where it has been recorded from Alberta ...

'' (Fitch, 1855) * '' Gnorimoschema salinaris'' Busck, 1911 external link to gallformers

Taxonomy

Two varieties of ''Solidago ulmifolia'' are currently recognized. They are: *''Solidago ulmifolia'' var. ''palmeri'' - with pubescent stems; primarily of the Ozarks of Arkansas and Missouri, disjunct in Mississippi.Asteraceae Lab at the University of Waterloo
by John Semple *''Solidago ulmifolia'' var. ''ulmifolia'' - with glabrous stems; widespread in eastern North America.

References

ulmifolia Flora of Canada Flora of the Eastern United States Flora of the North-Central United States Plants described in 1803 Taxa named by Gotthilf Heinrich Ernst Muhlenberg {{Solidago-stub