Solidago spectabilis

Showy goldenrod, Showy Goldenrod

Family: Asteraceae · Type: perennial · Native

Showy goldenrod is a California native perennial found in the Klamath Ranges, northern California High Sierra Nevada, eastern Sierra Nevada slopes, and Great Basin in bogs and alkaline meadows at elevations of 300 to 2,300 meters. Flowering from July to September, this plant produces yellow flowers in dense, ascending to arching panicle-like clusters with 6 to 21 ray flowers. Growing up to 1.8 meters tall with a short caudex, it has mostly glabrous stems that range from erect to somewhat arching. Its leaves are distinctively oblanceolate, with basal leaves up to 25 centimeters long and becoming smaller and more entire toward the stem, often forming clusters in leaf axils. The plant produces small fruits 1 to 2 millimeters long, sparsely covered with stiff hairs.

Habitat: Bogs, alkaline meadows

Bloom period: Jul-Sep

Elevation: 300-2300 m

Bioregions: KR, CaRH, n SNH (e slope), GB

Data from The California Species Project — 14,000+ California species with verified data from CNPS, CDFW, USFWS, Jepson eFlora, Cal-IPC, and more.