Summary ²

Sweet goldenrod is a perennial with 2-5 ft. stems arising from short rhizomes. The hairy stems bear elliptic, alternate, stemless, single-veined, narrow, dark green leaves with smooth or hairy margins and pointed tips. The leaves are 1-4 in. long and smell like licorice when crushed. This is one of the earliest goldenrods to bloom, so it reaches its mature height by about July. If you notice flowering goldenrods in Florida in July and August, they are most certainly sweet goldenrod. Flowering occurs throughout mid to late summer and is often done about the time most other species in Florida begin. Densely crowded golden-yellow flowers appear in branched clusters at the tops of the stems. The individual blossoms are arranged in rows along the upper sides of the flower head branchlets. As the plant become top-heavy with flower heads, a little bit of wind will cause the plant to list to one side, yet the roots hold firm. Fuzzy pale gray seedheads containing tiny nutlets replace the blossoms later in the season. It is a near endemic as it is found outside Florida only in a few counties in Georgia. It is a frequent component of mesic to more xeric pinelands and open habitats throughout its range.Sweet goldenrod, like most other scrub and sand-hill species, loves fire. Once an area is burned, it will come back with a vengeance.

Sources and Credits

1. (c) t_kok, all rights reserved
2. (c) t_kok, some rights reserved (CC BY-SA)

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• iNat taxon page
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