Solidago rugosa Mill.
Rough-stemmed goldenrod, wrinkleleaf goldenrod
Rough-stemmed goldenrods are natives of North America. For a comparison chart of some of the varieties of goldenrods, see Solidago.
Plants: Up to 5′ (1.5 m) tall. Rough-stemmed goldenrods are named for their hairy, rough stems, which are light green to brownish red. Plants lack the rosette of leaves that are at the base of many goldenrods.
Leaves: Narrow closer to the base of the plant, widening and becoming more oval-shaped toward the top, and usually quite wrinkled in appearance (the species name, rugosa, means “having a rough, wrinkled surface”). They are up to 2½ ⨉ ¾″ (7 ⨉ 2 cm), and attach directly to the stem (”sessile”).
Flowers: A pyramid-shaped group of panicles at the top of the plant, with multiple flowering branches of upward-pointing flowers. (Younger plants may have only a single spike.) Each composite flower is bright yellow, about ¼″ (6.3 mm) around, with a small yellow disk surrounded by 4-6 ray florets and 4-6 disc florets. Flowers appear from July to October.
Fruits: Flowers become small spherical arrangements of seeds on “parachutes,” called cypselae, like dandilions gone to seed. The cypselae are ~1/32″ (0.9–1.5 mm) in diameter.
Habitats: Fields and thickets, in damp ground.
Edibility: Not edible.
Medical: Although goldenrod is popularly blamed by many hay fever sufferers, the real culprit is ragweed.
Online References:
References:
9/2/2023 · Boundary Trail, Bradbury Mountain State Park, Pownal, Maine · ≈ 6 × 10″ (16 × 24 cm) 
9/11/2012 · Mt. Watatic, Ashburnham, Massachusetts · ≈ 4½ × 7″ (11 × 17 cm) 
8/4/2009 · Tom and Susan’s, Pepperell, Massachusetts · ≈ 8 × 8″ (19 × 19 cm) 
ID is uncertain 
9/11/2012 · Mt. Watatic, Ashburnham, Massachusetts · ≈ 7 × 6″ (18 × 15 cm) 
8/24/2023 · Morse Mountain, Phippsburg, Maine · ≈ 5 × 8″ (13 × 20 cm) 
9/14/2010 · Garden in the Woods, Framingham, Massachusetts · ≈ 7 × 11″ (18 × 27 cm) ID is uncertain 
8/4/2007 · Tom and Susan’s, Pepperell, Massachusetts ID is uncertain 
9/11/2012 · Mt. Watatic, Ashburnham, Massachusetts · ≈ 11 × 7″ (27 × 18 cm) 
6/9/2025 · Curtis Farm Preserve, Harpswell, Maine · ≈ 6 × 10″ (16 × 24 cm) 
9/22/2020 · Giants’ Stairs, Bailey Island, Harpswell, Maine · ≈ 7 × 4½″ (18 × 12 cm) 
8/29/2016 · Wharton Plantation, Groton, Massachusetts 
9/2/2023 · Boundary Trail, Bradbury Mountain State Park, Pownal, Maine · ≈ 5 × 8″ (13 × 20 cm) 
8/29/2016 · Wharton Plantation, Groton, Massachusetts 
9/14/2010 · Garden in the Woods, Framingham, Massachusetts · ≈ 5 × 3½″ (13 × 9.2 cm) ID is uncertain 
9/2/2023 · Boundary Trail, Bradbury Mountain State Park, Pownal, Maine · ≈ 6 × 10″ (16 × 24 cm) 
9/11/2012 · Mt. Watatic, Ashburnham, Massachusetts · ≈ 11 × 7″ (27 × 18 cm) 
9/16/2016 · Bar Harbor Motel, Bar Harbor, Maine 
Stem close-up · 9/20/2009 · Wild Gardens of Acadia, Acadia National Park, Bar Harbor, Maine · ≈ 5 × 4″ (12 × 10 cm) 
9/22/2020 · Giants’ Stairs, Bailey Island, Harpswell, Maine · ≈ 7 × 4½″ (18 × 12 cm) 
9/19/2015 · Beaver Brook Conservation Area, Porcupine Trail, Hollis, New Hampshire · ≈ 7 × 6″ (18 × 14 cm) 
8/24/2023 · Morse Mountain, Phippsburg, Maine · ≈ 4 × 6″ (11 × 16 cm) 
8/24/2023 · Morse Mountain, Phippsburg, Maine · ≈ 4 × 6″ (11 × 16 cm) 
That’s a Baltimore checkerspot caterpillar (Euphydryas phaeton) · 6/9/2025 · Curtis Farm Preserve, Harpswell, Maine · ≈ 7 × 4½″ (18 × 12 cm) 
8/7/2009 · Tom and Susan’s, Pepperell, Massachusetts · ≈ 5 × 4″ (13 × 10 cm) ID is uncertain 
7/28/2009 · Tom & Susan’s House, Pepperell, Massachusetts · ≈ 5 × 5″ (12 × 13 cm) ID is uncertain 
9/20/2024 · Morse Mountain, Phippsburg, Maine 
9/19/2015 · Beaver Brook Conservation Area, Porcupine Trail, Hollis, New Hampshire · ≈ 8 × 6″ (20 × 14 cm) 
8/4/2009 · Tom and Susan’s, Pepperell, Massachusetts · ≈ 5 × 3½″ (13 × 9.3 cm) ID is uncertain 
8/25/2017 · Pack Monadnock, near summit, Peterborough, New Hampshire · ≈ 4 × 6″ (10 × 14 cm) 
9/2/2023 · Boundary Trail, Bradbury Mountain State Park, Pownal, Maine · ≈ 5 × 8″ (13 × 20 cm) 
9/16/2016 · Bar Harbor Motel, Bar Harbor, Maine 
9/18/2016 · Edgar M. Tennis Preserve, Deer Isle, Maine 
9/18/2016 · Edgar M. Tennis Preserve, Deer Isle, Maine 
8/7/2009 · Tom and Susan’s, Pepperell, Massachusetts · ≈ 14 × 9″ (35 × 23 cm) ID is uncertain 
9/14/2010 · Garden in the Woods, Framingham, Massachusetts · ≈ 8 × 12″ (20 × 31 cm) ID is uncertain 
9/19/2015 · Beaver Brook Conservation Area, Porcupine Trail, Hollis, New Hampshire · ≈ 7 × 5″ (17 × 13 cm) 
| Kingdom | Plantae | Plants, but not fungi, lichens, or algae (from Stearn's Botanical Latin) |
| 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 | Solidago | From Latin solido, “to make whole or heal,” because it was believed these species had healing properties |
| Species | rugosa | "Wrinkled or folded" (from Stearn's Botanical Latin) |
Solidago rugosa description by Thomas H. Kent, not updated.
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