Solidago flexicaulis

{{short description|Species of plant}}

{{Speciesbox

|image = Solidago flexicaulis01.jpg

|genus = Solidago

|species = flexicaulis

|authority = L.

|synonyms_ref = {{ThePlantList |authority=L.}}

|synonyms =

• Aster latifolius (L.) Kuntze 1891 not Mill. 1768
• Doria flexicaulis (L.) Lunell
• Solidago latifolia L.
• Solidago scrophulariifolia Mill.

}}

Solidago flexicaulis, the broadleaved goldenrod, or zigzag goldenrod,{{PLANTS |id=SOFL2 |taxon=Solidago flexicaulis |accessdate=18 November 2015}} is a North American species of herbaceous perennial plants in the family Asteraceae. It is native to the eastern and central parts of the United States and Canada, from Nova Scotia west to Ontario and the Dakotas, and south as far as Alabama and Louisiana.{{BONAP|ref |genus=Solidago |species=flexicaulis}} It grows in a variety of habitats including mesic upland forests, well drained floodplain forests, seepage swamp hummocks, and rocky woodlands.[http://vaplantatlas.org/index.php?do=plant&plant=2273&search=Search Digital Atlas of the Virginia Flora]{{eFloras|1 |tribe=Astereae |first1=John C. |last1=Semple |first2=Rachel E. |last2=Cook}}{{cite book | author-link=Neltje Blanchan |last=Blanchan |first=Neltje | title=Wild Flowers Worth Knowing | year=2005 | publisher=Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation}}

The plant is called the "zigzag goldenrod" because the thin, wiry stem zigs and zags back and forth, changing direction at each node (leaf attachment point). The plant bears sometimes as many as 250 small yellow flower heads, some at the end of the stem, others in the axils of the leaves. The leaves are very broad, almost round, but with an elongated tip at the end and large teeth along the edges.

Solidago flexicaulis shares some similarities to Solidago albopilosa, both molecularly and physically. There is some evidence indicating that the plant is an ancient autopolyploid of S. flexicaulis.{{Cite journal|last=Esselman|first=Elizabeth J.|last2=Crawford|first2=Daniel J.|date=April 1997|title=Molecular and Morphological Evidence for the Origin of Solidago albopilosa (Asteraceae), a Rare Endemic of Kentucky|url=http://dx.doi.org/10.2307/2419456|journal=Systematic Botany|volume=22|issue=2|pages=245|doi=10.2307/2419456|issn=0363-6445|url-access=subscription}}

File:Solidago_flexicaulis.jpg|Photo showing elongated inflorescence