Elm-leaf goldenrod

Solidago ulmifolia, the elm-leaved goldenrod, is a perennial herb of the Asteraceae arising from a woody caudex and short rhizomes to a height of 60-120 cm. It is native to eastern and central North America, ranging from Ontario and Nova Scotia south to Texas and the Florida Panhandle, where it grows in thin woodlands, on bluffs and slopes (often over calcareous substrates), and in moist hammocks and old fields. The thin, ovate to elliptic stem leaves resemble those of elm (Ulmus), with sharply serrate margins and prominent veins; they decrease in size up the stem and are largely sessile above. Inflorescences are open, arching one-sided panicles bearing as many as 150 small yellow flower heads in late summer and autumn. Each head contains 3-6 ray florets and 4-8 disc florets and produces small, ribbed achenes with a pappus of fine bristles.