Minnesota Seasons - stiff goldenrod

Overview • Description • Distribution • Taxonomy

Overview

Stiff goldenrod is a common, showy wildflower in open places in eastern and central United States. It is found in prairies, savannas, and open woodlands, and along roadsides. It is drought resistant, and it thrives in dry, sandy, or rocky soils.

Stiff goldenrod flowers from late summer to early fall. It attracts many pollinators, including western honey bees, mason wasps, paper wasps, scolid wasps, flower flies, and of course, goldenrod soldier beetles.

There are three subspecies of Solidago rigida, two of which occur in Minnesota.

Description

Stiff goldenrod is a 24″ to 60″ tall, erect, perennial forb that rises on 1 to 10 stems from a short, branched, woody caudex. The stems and leaves are densely covered with short, curved hairs, giving them a rough texture and a grayish-green appearance. The leaves are egg shaped and rigid. Their margins may be toothed or untoothed. The inflorescence is a showy, dense, flat-topped cluster of many small yellow flower heads at the top of the stem.


Distribution
		Sources 2, 3, 4, 5, 7, 28, 29, 30.
3/21/2024


Taxonomy
Kingdom	Plantae (green algae and land plants)
Subkingdom	Viridiplantae (green plants)
Infrakingdom	Streptophyta (land plants and green algae)
Superdivision	Embryophyta (land plants)
Division	Tracheophyta (vascular plants)
Subdivision	Spermatophytina (seed plants) / Angiospermae (flowering plants)
Class	Magnoliopsida (flowering plants)
Superorder	Asteranae
Order	Asterales (sunflowers, bellflowers, fanflowers, and allies)
Family	Asteraceae (sunflowers, daisies, asters, and allies)
Subfamily	Asteroideae
Supertribe	Asterodae
Tribe	Astereae (asters and allies)
Genus	Solidago (goldenrod)
Section	Ptarmicoidei

Some taxonomist separate the seven flat-topped goldenrod species in the Solidago section Ptarmicoidei as a separate genus Oligoneuron. The Global Compositae Database lists stiff goldenrod as Oligoneuron rigidum, with Solidago rigida a synonym. The Global Compositae Checklist lists it as Solidago rigida, with Oligoneuron rigidum a synonym. USDA PLANTS lists it as Oligoneuron rigidum. Almost all other sources list it as Solidago rigida.

Subordinate Taxa
stiff goldenrod (Solidago rigida ssp. glabrata) stiff goldenrod (Solidago rigida ssp. humilis) stiff goldenrod (Solidago rigida ssp. rigida)

Synonyms
Oligoneuron rigidum

Common Names
hard-leaved goldenrod prairie goldenrod rigid goldenrod rigid-leaved goldenrod stiff goldenrod stiff-leaf goldenrod stiff-leaved goldenrod


Visitor Photos

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Dan W. Andree

Katydid on Goldenrod...

Seen it at Frenchman’s Bluff SNA 8-29-24.


MinnesotaSeasons.com Photos



Habitat


Plant		Plant


Inflorescence


		Inflorescence


Leaf


		Leaves

Camera

Slideshows

Solidago rigidum (Stiff Goldenrod)
Allen Chartier

Solidago rigida STIFF GOLDENROD
Frank Mayfield

slideshow


Visitor Videos

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Other Videos

Monarch butterfly forages on stiff goldenrod
Robert Klips

About

Published on Sep 13, 2012

Stiff goldenrod, Solidago rigida, is a prairie wildflower with bright yellow flowers that are avidly visited by a variety of butterflies, including this monarch butterfly. The location is the Larry R. Yoder Prairie on the Marion Campus of Ohio State University.

Dance of the Monarchs and Honeybees.m4v
Joy Buslaff

About

Uploaded on Sep 6, 2010

On a Labor Day weekend, migrating Monarchs and local Honeybees found nectar aplenty within the flowers of Solidago rigida (Rigid or Stiff Goldenrod).

Camcorder


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