Solidago spithamaea

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Solidago spithamaea
Solidago spithamaea FWS-1.jpg
Status TNC G2.svg
Imperiled  (NatureServe) [1]
Scientific classification OOjs UI icon edit-ltr.svg
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Tracheophytes
Clade: Angiosperms
Clade: Eudicots
Clade: Asterids
Order: Asterales
Family: Asteraceae
Genus: Solidago
Species:
S. spithamaea
Binomial name
Solidago spithamaea
Synonyms [2]
  • Aster spithamaeus(M.A.Curtis ex A.Gray) Kuntze

Solidago spithamaea is a species of flowering plant in the family Asteraceae known by the common name Blue Ridge goldenrod. [3] It is native to a very small region around the border between North Carolina and Tennessee in the United States. [4] Its three remaining populations are threatened by the loss and degradation of its habitat. It is a federally listed threatened species of the United States.

Solidago spithamaea produces one or more stems from an underground rhizome and caudex, and it grows 10 to 40 centimeters (4-14 inches) tall. The plant has an unpleasant scent. The leaves vary in shape and size, the ones higher on the stem becoming smaller. The inflorescence is a compact or spreading array of 15 to 50 or more flower heads. Each head has a bell-shaped base about half a centimeter (0.2 inches) long which is lined with phyllaries with pointed, darkened tips. The head contains 8-15 yellow ray florets just a few millimeters long, surrounding 20-60 disc florets. The fruit is an achene with a pappus of bristles. [5]

Solidago spithamaea grows on the high summits of the Blue Ridge Mountains in western North Carolina and eastern Tennessee. There is one population each in Avery and Mitchell Counties in North Carolina and Carter County, Tennessee, a region measuring about 15 square miles (38 km2). [6] It can be found on Grandfather Mountain, Hanging Rock, and Roan Mountain. [1] It grows on rocky peaks, cliffs, and slopes covered in talus. The habitat is mostly barren and exposed to full sun and harsh winter weather. This is one of several goldenrods that are relict species, plants that were more common when conditions were colder and wetter. As glaciers receded, the area became warmer and drier, and plants such as this goldenrod were left in areas that most resemble the alpine climate to which it was adapted. It now persists in the high mountain peaks that have the harshest winter conditions. Few of the relict goldenrods remain as far south as this one. [6] [1]

Other plants in this barren habitat include mainly grasses and sedges, [1] but there are some other rare mountain herbs and trees including Heller's blazingstar (Liatris helleri), red spruce (Picea rubens), cliff avens (Geum radiatum), sandmyrtle (Kalmia buxifolia). [6]

The very habitat where the plant persists is an area popular for hiking and sightseeing, and much of it has been converted to roads, trails, parking lots, and other utilities. Remaining habitat is vulnerable to trampling. [6] Other threats include acid precipitation [6] and climate change. [1]

Related Research Articles

<i>Solidago</i> Genus of plants in the family Asteraceae

Solidago, commonly called goldenrods, is a genus of about 100 to 120 species of flowering plants in the family Asteraceae. Most are herbaceous perennial species found in open areas such as meadows, prairies, and savannas. They are mostly native to North America, including Mexico; a few species are native to South America and Eurasia. Some American species have also been introduced into Europe and other parts of the world.

<i>Solidago canadensis</i> Species of flowering plant

Solidago canadensis, known as Canada goldenrod or Canadian goldenrod, is an herbaceous perennial plant of the family Asteraceae. It is native to northeastern and north-central North America and often forms colonies of upright growing plants, with many small yellow flowers in a branching inflorescence held above the foliage. It is an invasive plant in other parts of the continent and several areas worldwide, including Europe and Asia. It is grown as an ornamental in flower gardens.

<i>Solidago shortii</i> Species of flowering plant

Solidago shortii, commonly known as Short's goldenrod, is a species of goldenrod in the family Asteraceae. The only known populations of Short's goldenrod occur around the Blue Licks Battlefield State Park area of Kentucky and Harrison-Crawford State Forest in Indiana. It was listed on the Federal Register of Endangered Species on September 5, 1985, and was given a global rank of G1 on February 29, 2000.

<i>Solidago nemoralis</i> Species of plant

Solidago nemoralis is a species of flowering plant in the family Asteraceae. It is native to North America, where it is widely found in Canada and the United States. Its common names include gray goldenrod, gray-stem goldenrod, old-field goldenrod, field goldenrod, prairie goldenrod, dwarf goldenrod, and dyersweed goldenrod.

<i>Solidago californica</i> Species of flowering plant

Solidago californica is a species of goldenrod known by the common name California goldenrod.

Solidago guiradonis is an uncommon species of goldenrod known by the common name Guirado goldenrod. It is native to the Central California Coast Ranges of central California, in southern San Benito and western Fresno Counties.

<i>Solidago multiradiata</i> Species of flowering plant

Solidago multiradiata is a species of goldenrod known by the common names Rocky Mountain goldenrod, northern goldenrod, and alpine goldenrod. It is native to North America, where it can be found throughout the northern regions, including Alaska and most of Canada (all 3 territories plus all provinces except Prince Edward Island, including territory north of the Arctic Circle. Its distribution extends through the western United States as far south as Arizona, New Mexico, and California. It is known mostly from the subalpine and alpine climates of high mountain ranges. Its habitat includes tundra and mountain meadows.

<i>Solidago spectabilis</i> Species of flowering plant

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. This variety has also been seen in the western Montana county of Sanders.

<i>Geum radiatum</i> Species of flowering plant

Geum radiatum is a rare species of flowering plant in the rose family known by the common names spreading avens, Appalachian avens, and cliff avens. It is native to the region of the border between Tennessee and North Carolina in the southeastern United States, where there are eleven known populations remaining. The plant was federally listed as an endangered species in 1990.

<i>Solidago albopilosa</i> Species of plant

Solidago albopilosa is a rare species of flowering plant in the family Asteraceae known by the common name whitehair goldenrod.

<i>Solidago houghtonii</i> Species of flowering plant

Solidago houghtonii is a rare North American species of flowering plant in the family Asteraceae known as Houghton's goldenrod. It is native to southern Ontario, Canada and the northern United States. It is threatened by the loss and degradation of its habitat. It is a federally listed threatened species of the United States and it is designated a species of special concern by Canada's Committee on the Status of Endangered Wildlife in Canada.

<i>Solidago missouriensis</i> Species of flowering plant

Solidago missouriensis is a species of flowering plant in the family Asteraceae known by the common names Missouri goldenrod and prairie goldenrod. It is native to North America, where it is widespread across much of Canada, the United States, and northern Mexico. It grows from British Columbia east to Manitoba, south as far as Sonora, Coahuila, Texas, and Mississippi.

<i>Solidago ouachitensis</i> Species of flowering plant

Solidago ouachitensis is a North American species of flowering plants in the family Asteraceae known by the common name Ouachita Mountain goldenrod. It has a very limited range, found only in the Ouachita Mountains along the border between Arkansas and Oklahoma in the United States.

Solidago verna is a species of flowering plant in the aster family known by the common names springflowering goldenrod and spring goldenrod. It is native to North Carolina and South Carolina in the United States.

<i>Solidago villosicarpa</i> Species of flowering plant

Solidago villosicarpa is a species of flowering plant in the family Asteraceae known by the common names hairy-seed goldenrod, coastal goldenrod, glandular wand goldenrod, and shaggy-fruit goldenrod. It is endemic to North Carolina in the United States, where there are only four known populations.

<i>Solidago plumosa</i> Species of flowering plant

Solidago plumosa is a rare species of goldenrod known by the common names Yadkin River goldenrod, plumed goldenrod, and plumose goldenrod. It is endemic to North Carolina in the United States, where it grows only on the banks of the Yadkin River. There is only one known population. It is a candidate for federal protection.

<i>Solidago gattingeri</i> Species of flowering plant

Solidago gattingeri, common name Gattinger's goldenrod, is a species of plant that is a goldenrod. It is native only to the Ozark Mountains of Arkansas and Missouri and to the Nashville Basin of Tennessee. Its preferred habitat is cedar glades, cedar barrens, and limestone outcrops. It is adapted to dry habitats.

<i>Solidago simplex</i> Species of flowering plant

Solidago simplex, the Mt. Albert goldenrod or sticky goldenrod, is a North American plant species in the genus Solidago of the family Asteraceae. It is widespread across much of Canada, parts of the United States, and northeastern Mexico.

<i>Solidago curtisii</i> Species of flowering plant

Solidago curtisii, commonly called Curtis' goldenrod and mountain decumbent goldenrod, is a North American species of flowering plants in the family Asteraceae. It is the eastern part of the United States from Pennsylvania to Mississippi and Alabama, primarily in the southern Appalachian Mountains.

Solidago lancifolia, known as lance-leaf goldenrod, is a rare North American plant in the family Asteraceae. It is found only in the Appalachian Mountains of Virginia, Tennessee, and North Carolina.

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 Solidago spithamaea. The Nature Conservancy.
  2. The Plant List, Solidago spithamaea M.A.Curtis ex A.Gray
  3. USDA, NRCS (n.d.). "Solidago spithamaea". The PLANTS Database (plants.usda.gov). Greensboro, North Carolina: National Plant Data Team. Retrieved 19 November 2015.
  4. Biota of North America Program 2014 county distribution map
  5. Flora of North America, Solidago spithamaea, M. A. Curtis ex A. Gray, 1842. Skunk or Blue Ridge goldenrod
  6. 1 2 3 4 5 Solidago spithamaea. Archived 2011-10-26 at the Wayback Machine Center for Plant Conservation.