COMPOSITE 



leaves and the tubular flowers, but the creamish cast of 

 the flower heads is misleading, until one is assured that 

 this plant is the exception that proves the rule that all 

 Goldenrods are yellow. 



COMPOSITE COMPOSITE FAMILY 



Solidago Elliottii, T. and G. 



Yellow 



Elliott's Goldenrod. 

 September-October 



Solidago: for derivation see altissima. 

 Elliottii: in honour of Stephen Elliot. 



THE PREFERRED HABITAT: low grounds. 



THE PLANT: erect, three feet to six feet high; the stem 

 hairless or with minute hairs above, simple, or branched 

 at the inflorescence. 



THE LEAVES: alternate; oblong or oblong-lanceolate, rarely 

 ovate-oblong; one inch to five inches long; firm; hairless 

 on both sides, or with very few, short, soft hairs on the 

 veins beneath; acute or acuminate at the apex; broad at 

 the base or sometimes narrowed below; sessile; finely saw- 

 toothed or the upper entire; rough on the margins; pin- 

 nately veined. 



THE FLOWER HEADS: growing mostly on one side of the 

 short, spreading, or recurving branches of the narrow pan- 

 icle; bracts of the involucre linear-oblong and obtuse. 



THE FRUIT: achenes; pappus of bristles. 



This is one of the easiest of the tall Goldenrods to identify. 

 Like the odor a, its tendency is to be hairless throughout. 

 Unlike the odora, it prefers the thicket borders of ponds, 

 where its rather heavy flower heads create a handsome 

 dash of yellow. 



374 



