COMPOSITE 



COMPOSITE COMPOSITE FAMILY 



Solidago nemoralis, Ait. 



Yellow Low Goldenrod, 



Grey Goldenrod, 



August-October Field Goldenrod , 



Dwarf Goldenrod, 

 Dyer's Goldenrod. 



Solidago: for derivation see alllissima. 

 Nemoralis: Latin for a grove. 



THE PREFERRED HABITAT: dry, sandy soil of the Commons. 



THE PLANT: mainly spreading or prostrate; six inches to 

 two feet high; the stem slender, ashy-grey, with dense and 

 fine soft, short hairs. 



THE LEAVES: alternate; oblanceolate, spatulate or linear- 

 oblong; thick; roughish; acutish at the apex; petioled; the 

 upper entire or round-toothed; obscurely three-nerved. 



THE FLOWER HEADS: very small, on one side of the spread- 

 ing or recurving branches of the usually one-sided panicle 

 which tops the stem; bracts of the involucre linear oblong. 



THE FRUIT: achenes; the pappus consisting of bristles. 



One might think that it would be easy to identify the 

 low nemoralis, the grey Goldenrod, which spreads its ashy 

 stems and heavy panicles of flowers in a rosette over the 

 ground or strives somewhat unsuccessfully to hold them 

 upright, but it, too, is variable. The flower-clusters, for 

 example, are sometimes compact and unbranched, but 

 sometimes as much as five armed. But, fortunately, the 

 ashy-grey, hoary hairs, even though they may vary in 

 quantity, are always present on the stem at least. 



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