Monday, November 5, 2012

White Goldenrod or Silverrod (Solidago bicolor)


September 15th, 2012. We drove over Patterson Gap Road from Betty’s Creek Road to Persimmon Road. Patterson Gap lies on the Tennessee Valley Divide in the Chattahoochee National Forest. The road is graveled and water erosion has produced some rough sections.
 
Our first find was Lobelia siphilitca (Great Blue Lobelia). Further up the road – at about 2,900 ft asl - we started to see gentians. We spotted Gentiana saponaria (Soapwort Gentian) and Gentianella quinquefolia (Stiff Gentian) further up the road. Near the top of the pass, we found a blazing star that we’ve tentatively identified as Liatris squarrulosa (Southern Blazing Star) and Prenanthes altissima (Tall Rattlesnakeroot) growing at the top of the pass.

A little further along the road we came across a spring. I was going to call it a seep but, when I think about it, the water was almost pouring out of the rocks. A little way back up the road, there were a couple of unusual goldenrod plants. They stood our from the surrounding goldenrod plants in that their flowers were distinctly lighter in color: Solidago bicolor (White Goldenrod, Silverrod).

The top of the flower stem

The leaves

A closer view of the top of the flower stem.

Close up of an individual flower.

Solidago bicolor (White Goldenrod, Silverrod) is native to the United States where its found from Maine west to Wisconsin and south to Louisiana and Georgia; it’s not been documented in Florida. In Georgia, its been documented in Union and Dawson counties in North Georgia.
Click on an image to view a larger image

Identification Resources:
Natural and Naturalized Plants of the Carolinas and Georgia: Solidago bicolor (Silverrod, White Goldenrod)

Distribution:
United States Department of Agriculture Plants Database: Solidago bicolor (White Goldenrod)

Related posts:
- Tall Rattlesnakeroot (Prenanthes altissima) 

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