﻿Bicknell: Ferns and flowering plants of Nantucket 561 



* Solidago aestivalis sp. nov. 



A common Nantucket golden-rod of low grounds and boggy- 

 places, closely related to S. rugosa, but having a much earlier 

 flowering period, and notable as the earliest flowering golden-rod 

 of the island. In full flower August 4, 1906; passing out of bloom 

 September 2, 1904, when the earliest flowers of S. rugosa were 

 only beginning to appear; mostly past flowering and many 

 panicles dried and brown September i, 1907. Common also on 

 Martha's Vineyard and on Lond Island and occurring on Staten 

 Island. 



Commonly from 8-12 dm. high (2-20 dm.), the stem strongly 

 striate-angled, especially above, glabrous and shining or occa- 

 sionally with some scattered hairs, typically deep or even bright 

 purple throughout including the branches of the panicle; leaves 

 deep green, numerous, the larger 6-14 cm. long and 2-3 cm. wide, 

 elliptic-lanceolate, attenuate or acuminate, often abrupt y rounded 

 at the extreme base, the lowermost narrowed into rather long, 

 margined petioles; blades not ordinarily rugose nor prominently 

 venulose, appressed-serrate or, in one form, openly cut-serrate, 

 the upper surface often lustrous, smooth and glabrous or with 

 some scant obscure hairs, thinly pubescent with loose tapering 

 hairs on the veins beneath, the narrower lower leaves sometimes 

 finely close pubescent, their margined petioles ciliate ; branches of 

 the inflorescence angled and thinly villous-pubescent ; inflorescence 

 commonly of wide spreading and recurved foliaceous branches 

 forming a broad open panicle, or the panicle sometimes elongated 

 and short branched; heads numerous and crowded, secund in 

 paniculate leafy-bracted racemes and short ultimate clusters; 

 involucre 2.5 to 3.5 mm. long, its bracts linear-oblong to linear, 

 obtuse, mostly ciliolate, subcarinate, firm, broader and less taper- 

 ing than those of S. rugosa and not recurving in age, the prominent 

 midrib mostly broadened into the greenish tip; rays commonly 

 eight (6-12), the heads spreading 4-5 mm.; achene pubescent. 



Type from Hewlett, Long Island, August 9, 1914, deposited 

 in the herbarium of the New York Botanical Garden. 



In the coastwise swamps of southern Long Island this golden- 

 rod comes into bloom from the middle of July until early in August, 

 three to five weeks in advance of S. rugosa and much of it is past 

 flowering at the time the latter begins to bloom. The close 

 relationship of S. aestivalis to S. rugosa is evident enough, and 

 examples are not wanting that suggest either that the two are 



