western goldenrod (western goldentop)
Asteraceae (Aster family)
Introduction to Vascular Plants
Species Information
General:
Perennial herb from a creeping rhizome, stems erect, glabrous throughout except for the rough-hairy margins of the leaves, 0.5-2.0 m tall.
Leaves:
Basal leaves lacking; stem leaves alternate, unstalked, lance-linear, 3-nerved, gland-dotted, up to 10 cm long and 1 cm wide, glabrous and sometimes glaucous; lower stem leaves soon deciduous.
Flowers:
Heads with ray and disk flowers, short-stalked in an interrupted, elongated inflorescence; involucres egg-shaped, 3-5 mm tall; involucral bracts with broadly sharp-pointed to long-pointed tips, 1-nerved, straw-coloured, sometimes green-tipped; ray flowers yellow, 15-30, usually 1.5-2.5 cm long; disk flowers yellow.
Fruits:
Achenes compressed, stiff-hairy; pappus of white, hairlike bristles.
Illustration
If more than one illustration is available for a species (e.g., separate illustrations were provided for two subspecies) then links to the separate images will be provided below. Note that individual subspecies or varietal illustrations are not always available.
Illustration Source: The Illustrated Flora of British Columbia
USDA Species Characteristics
Flower Colour:
Yellow
Blooming Period:
Late Summer
Fruit/Seed characteristics:
Colour: Brown
Present from Summer to Fall
Source: The USDA
Ecology
The table below shows the species-specific information calculated from
original data (BEC database) provided by the BC Ministry of Forests and Range.
(Updated August, 2013)
| Site Information |
Value / Class |
||
|
Avg |
Min |
Max |
|
| Elevation
(metres) |
1035 | 847 | 1140 |
| Slope
Gradient (%) |
8 | 2 | 15 |
|
Aspect (degrees) |
129 | 100 | 160 |
| Soil
Moisture Regime (SMR) [0 - very xeric; 4 - mesic; 8 - hydric] |
4 | 4 | 6 |
| Modal
Nutrient Regime
Class |
C | ||
| #
of field plots species was recorded in: |
5 | ||
| Modal
BEC Zone Class |
IDF | ||
|
All BEC Zones (# of stations/zone) species was recorded in |
BG(1), IDF(3) | ||
|
Source:
Klinkenberg 2013
|
|||
Habitat and Range
Moist river banks and lakeshores in the steppe zone; frequent in SC BC; E to AB and S to NE, AZ, NM and CA.Status Information
Synonyms
Synonyms and Alternate Names:
Euthamia californica Gandog.
Euthamia linearifolia Gandog.
Solidago occidentalis (Nutt.) Torr. & A. Gray
Taxonomic Keys
TAXONOMIC KEY TO EUTHAMIA
1. Inflorescence usually interrupted and elongate; plants glabrous and often glaucous; involucral bracts with long-pointed tips E. occidentalis 1. Inflorescence essentially flat-topped and compact; plants glabrous or hairy, never glaucous; involucral bracts obtuse to abruptly sharp-pointed, without long-pointed tips E. graminifolia |