Euthamia graminifolia (Flat-top goldentop)

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Euthamia graminifolia (L.) Nutt.

Flat-top goldentop, lance-leaved goldenrod, grass-leaved goldenrod, flat-topped goldentop

Kingdom	Plantae	Plants, but not fungi, lichens, or algae
Subkingdom	Tracheobionta	Vascular plants—plants with a “circulatory system” for delivering water and nutrients
Division	Magnoliophyta	Flowering plants, also known as angiosperms
Class	Magnoliopsida	Dicotyledons—plants with two initial seed leaves
Subclass	Asteridae	A large class that encompasses asters
Order	Asterales	Flowering plants with a central disk flower and surrounding petals, like daisies
Family	Asteraceae	The aster family, which also includes daisies and sunflowers; from the Greek ἀστήρ, “star,” for the star-shaped flowers
Genus	Euthamia	Greek for “well-crowded,” from the dense flowerheads
Species	graminifolia	With grasslike foliage

About plant names...

Flat-top goldentop, or lance-leaved goldenrod, is a North American native. It has become naturalized in Europe and Asia. It is not a true goldenrod, though it is often classified as such, hence the name "goldentop" is now preferred. For a comparison table of goldenrods and similar species, see Solidago.

Identification: These plants are 1-4′ (30-121 cm) tall, often branched only slightly, sometimes heavily-branched and bushy. Stems typically have rows of fine white hairs. Lance-shaped leaves contain 3 veins running along the length of the vein. Sometimes there is 1 or 5 veins, depending on leaf size. Leaves are 3-6″ (7.6-15 cm) × ⅛-⅝″ (3.2-15 mm), resembling grass blades, and attached directly to the stem ("sessile"). Leaves have resinous dots. Large, flat-topped or umbrella-shaped yellow flower clusters appear atop each stem. Each flower in the flowerhead is only ⅛″ (3.2 mm) across. Flowerheads tend to bloom gradually, not all at once, emitting a modest, sweet scent. (A similar species, Euthamia gymnospermoides or plains grass-leaved goldenrod, has only a single major vein in even the largest leaves, and hairless stems. Each flower consists of 12-20 tiny florets, vs. 21-35 in lance-leaved goldenrod.)

Some Euthamias are listed below. This genus is in taxonomic flux, so the names are likely to change:

8/15/2021 · Bass Falls Preserve, Alna, Maine · ≈ 6 × 4″ (16 × 10 cm)

8/16/2014 · White Mountains, New Hampshire · ≈ 8 × 5″ (19 × 12 cm)

8/24/2013 · Tom and Susan’s, Pepperell, Massachusetts · ≈ 7 × 4½″ (18 × 12 cm) ID is uncertain

	*Euthamia caroliniana*	You are here Euthamia graminifolia
Common Name	slender goldentop	flat-top goldentop
Plant	10-39″ (25-100 cm) in height.	1-4′ (30-121 cm) tall, often branched only slightly, sometimes heavily-branched and bushy.
Flowers	Flowerheads are flat-topped or rounded, often multiply layered, with tiny yellow flowers, blooming from Aug-Dec.	Large, flat-topped or umbrella-shaped yellow flower clusters. Each flower in the flowerhead is ⅛″ (3.2 mm) across. Flowerheads tend to bloom gradually, not all at once, emitting a modest, sweet scent.
Leaves	Linear, like grass blades, abundant, typically bent downward or backward (deflexed). ⅞-2½″ (2.4-7 cm) long and 1/32-⅛″ (1-3 mm) wide, (up to ⅛″ (6 mm)) and smooth. Leaves have resinous dots.	Lance-shaped leaves contain 3 veins running along the length of the vein. Sometimes there is 1 or 5 veins, depending on leaf size. Leaves are 3-6″ (7.6-15 cm) × ⅛-⅝″ (3.2-15 mm), resembling grass blades, and attached directly to the stem ("sessile"). Leaves have resinous dots.
Stem	Stems are branched partway up, smooth, without a waxy bluish coating (technically, glabrous or glabrate, not glaucous).	Stems typically have rows of fine white hairs.
Range/ Zones
Type	Wild	Wild

Online References:

Vascular Plants of the Gila Wilderness

Illinois Wildflowers

Flora Pittsburghensis: Wild Flowers of Pittsburgh

Ontario Wildflowers

The Connecticut Botanical Society's Connecticut wildflowers site

The Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center

EFloras

References:

Clemants, Steven; Gracie, Carol, Wildflowers in the Field and Forest, Oxford University Press, 2006, p, 158

8/25/2017 · Pack Monadnock, near summit, Peterborough, New Hampshire · ≈ 3½ × 5″ (8.7 × 13 cm)

8/25/2013 · Casalis State Forest, Elm Hill Rd, Peterborough, New Hampshire · ≈ 11 × 7″ (28 × 18 cm) ID is uncertain

8/4/2009 · Near Nashoba Hospital, Ayer, Massachusetts · ≈ 13 × 9″ (33 × 22 cm) ID is uncertain

8/15/2021 · Bass Falls Preserve, Alna, Maine · ≈ 6 × 3½″ (14 × 9.4 cm)

8/25/2017 · Pack Monadnock, near summit, Peterborough, New Hampshire · ≈ 3½ × 5″ (8.7 × 13 cm)

8/28/2020 · Jack’s and Litchfield Trails, Chase Reserve, Brunswick, Maine · ≈ 6 × 4″ (14 × 10 cm)

9/3/2020 · Mitchell Field, Harpswell, Maine · ≈ 6 × 4″ (15 × 10 cm)

8/25/2017 · Pack Monadnock, near summit, Peterborough, New Hampshire · ≈ 3½ × 5″ (8.7 × 13 cm)

8/28/2020 · Jack’s and Litchfield Trails, Chase Reserve, Brunswick, Maine · ≈ 6 × 4″ (14 × 10 cm)

8/1/2021 · Houghton Graves Park, Harpswell, Maine · ≈ 4½ × 3″ (11 × 7.5 cm)

Euthamia graminifolia description by Thomas H. Kent, last updated 26 Jul 2023.

8/15/2021 · Bass Falls Preserve, Alna, Maine · ≈ 5 × 3½″ (13 × 9 cm)

8/4/2009 · Near Nashoba Hospital, Ayer, Massachusetts · ≈ 8 × 6″ (21 × 14 cm) ID is uncertain

8/24/2013 · Tom and Susan’s, Pepperell, Massachusetts · ≈ 7 × 4½″ (18 × 12 cm) ID is uncertain

8/16/2014 · White Mountains, New Hampshire · ≈ 10 × 7″ (25 × 16 cm)

8/1/2021 · Houghton Graves Park, Harpswell, Maine · ≈ 5 × 3″ (12 × 8.4 cm)

8/24/2013 · Tom and Susan’s, Pepperell, Massachusetts · ≈ 5 × 8″ (12 × 19 cm) ID is uncertain

8/15/2021 · Bass Falls Preserve, Alna, Maine · ≈ 5 × 3½″ (13 × 9 cm)

8/16/2014 · White Mountains, New Hampshire · ≈ 6 × 9″ (15 × 22 cm)

8/1/2021 · Houghton Graves Park, Harpswell, Maine · ≈ 4 × 2½″ (10 × 7 cm)

8/24/2013 · Tom and Susan’s, Pepperell, Massachusetts · ≈ 4½ × 7″ (12 × 18 cm) ID is uncertain

Range:

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