Solidago petiolaris Aiton

Plants 4–15 dm from a stout caudex, sometimes with long, slender rhizomes as well; stems finely puberulent or scabrous-puberulent above, generally glabrous below; lvs firm, lance-linear to more often lance-elliptic, elliptic, or ovate, 3–12 cm × 5–30 mm, entire or occasionally few-toothed, chiefly cauline, thick and strongly glutinous, glabrous, or scabrous along the midrib and main veins on both sides with short, loose, commonly subconic hairs 0.1–0.4 mm, or these rarely thinly scattered across the surface beneath; infl narrow and generally elongate, usually ± leafy-bracteate, the lower clusters sometimes elongate and stiffly ascending but not secund; peduncles 3–15 mm; invol 4.5–7.5 mm, atomiferous-glandular to occasionally glabrous, its bracts strongly imbricate, the outer with acute, sometimes squarrose tip, the inner erect and often blunter; rays (5–)7–9, 3–7 mm; disk-fls (8–)10–16; achenes glabrous or nearly so; 2n=18, 36. Rocky woods and open places, especially in sandy soil; N.C. to Neb., s. to Fla., La., and N.M., reaching our range in c. Mo. All or nearly all our plants belong to the Ozarkian var. angusta (Torr. & A. Gray) A. Gray, as described above. (S. angusta) The widespread but chiefly more southern var. petiolaris, more puberulent (especially on the lower surface of the lvs) and less glutinous, probably does not reach our range.