"Solidago sempervirens, or Seaside Goldenrod, is an herbaceous perennial wildflower often found on beaches, dunes, salt marshes, and pinelands. This plant is highly salt tolerant and deer resistant. The plant produces basal leaves topped by 2 to 8 foot stalks. The terminal or upper axillary flowering heads are dense, the lowest branches somewhat recurved. Arching branches bear one-sided clusters of large, bright yellow flower heads. Pinch the growing tips in June for a more compact plant. This goldenrod does not spread by rhizomes or become invasive.
"Goldenrods have been wrongfully accused of causing hay fever which is actually an allergic reaction to wind-borne pollen from ragweed. The Goldenrod genus contains about 120 species, most with similar characteristics. The Seaside Goldenrod may get confused with one of its cousins. This plant is deer resistant." (North Carolina Extension)
Botany:
Family: Asteraceae
Water-color sketch of Solidago Sempervirens (1896, Biodiversity Heritage Library)
Botanical illustration depicting succulent, lance-like (lanceolate) leaves of S. sempervirens that are arranged alternately along the stem. (Carnegie Mellon)
Faunal associations:

(1)

(2)

(3)
(1) Bumble Bee (Bombus impatiens) on goldenrod (Cappaert)
(2) Sweat bee (Halictus ligatus) (Gallagher)
(3) Female monarch (Danaus plexippus) in May (Harrelson)
Habitat:
"Solidago sempervirens is well adapted to coastal habitats including the backside of primary dunes, low secondary dunes and edges of salt marshes. It can be found on dunes, beaches, brackish marshes, coastal thickets, margins of estuaries, riparian habitats and in freshwater wetlands. It also occurs in abandoned fields, grasslands, disturbed sites, forest edges and along roadsides (
Sheahan, 2014;
Lonard et al., 2015;
Sturtevant and Howard, 2018;
Barkley et al. 2018). In Puerto Rico, it can be found cultivated and naturalized in the mountains (
Liogier and Martorell, 2000)." (
Rojas-Sandoval)
Solidago sempervirens growing in a coastal environment. (Plant Image Library)
Type: Herbaceous perennial
Family: Asteraceae
Native Range: Eastern and northeastern United States
Zone: 3 to 9
Height: 3.00 to 6.00 feet
Spread: 2.00 to 3.00 feet
Bloom Time: September to November
Bloom Description: Yellow
Sun: Full sun
Water: Dry to Medium
Maintenance: Low
Suggested Use: Naturalize, Dune restoration, Stormwater management
Flower: Showy
Attracts: Butterflies, Birds
Tolerate: Drought, Salt
Works Cited
Covers:
Second Cover: by Hiranya Anderson, 21 October 2018 <https://www.inaturalist.org/photos/27436328>. Public Domain.
Third Cover: "Solidago sempervirens L. - seaside goldenrod"
by Sam Fraser-Smith, 30 July 2009, CC BY 2.0
Botany:
Solidago sempervirens'', Courtesy of the Hunt Institute for Botanical Documentation, Carnegie Mellon University, Pittsburgh, Pa.
Faunal Associations:
Habitat:
Rojas-Sandoval J, 2018. Solidago sempervirens (seaside goldenrod). Invasive Species Compendium. Wallingford, UK: CABI. DOI:10.1079/ISC.117252.20203483207
Information and images compiled by Erik N. Vegeto
Disclaimer Notice:
Creative Commons will not be liable to You or any party on any legal theory for any damages whatsoever, including without limitation any general, special, incidental or consequential damages arising in connection to this license.
CC BY 2.0
CC BY 2.0