Solidago tortifolia - Twistedleaf goldenrod

Twistedleaf goldenrod (Solidago tortifolia) is yet another large and often dominating species within this genus. It is a common species in open fields and woodlands across most of Florida and in much of the Southeast from Texas to Virginia. 

This species is deciduous, but grows rapidly through the summer to reach a mature height of 6-8 feet by fall.  In Pinellas County, it blooms in mid-September into October, just a bit ahead of the peak bloom time for pinebarren goldenrod (S. fistulosa), another large goldenrod sometimes confused with this species.

Unique to this goldenrod is its twisted leaves.  Each is willowlike and most have a half twist that is quite distinctive. The leaves going up the stem also remain nearly the same size as the lower leaves.

The flowers occur on arching stems near the tip of the plants.  These are arranged in open panicles like many other species, but they are not as uniformly arranged as in pinebarren goldenrod and the side stems often fall away from the main stem and are nearly horizontal to the ground surface below.  This makes the overall infloresences irregular and a bit more open than most.

Twistedleaf goldenrod is somewhat "weedy" in nature and is a difficult species to maintain in small landscapes.  It suckers extensively and becomes quite dominant when planted with other species.  In expansive settings, however, it can be striking with its large yellow inflorescences and its interesting foliage.  It is only very infrequently offered by native plant nurseries in Florida  and may be difficult to locate.  We have grown it at Hawthorn Hill, but do not plan to offer it commercially. 

Solidago fistulosa - Pinebarren goldenrod

Pinebarren goldenrod (Solidago fistulosa) is another exceptionally widespread Florida species; found statewide in a variety of upland habitats.  It is a species primarily of the Southeast Coastal Plain, however, and follows the curve of North America from Louisiana to New Jersey. 

As its common name suggests, pinebarren goldenrod is a common component of pine flatwoods and open pine forests.  I find it most commonly in mesic conditions; not areas that are the most well-drained.  It is deciduous. Growth occurs in very early spring and individual stems eventually reach a mature height of 4-6 feet (rarely a bit taller) by its fall blooming season.  Like seaside goldenrod (S. sempervirens), the leaves are lance-shaped and remain fairly large going up the stem.  These leaves, however, are slightly toothed and the stems are slightly "hairy."  It also differs in that it produces large numbers of rhizomes and suckers quite aggressively in all directions.  For this reason, pinebarren goldenrod often occurs in dense patches; almost as monocultures, when it is in an area that provides ideal growing conditions.

Pinebarren goldenrod produces large open panicles of bright yellow flowers in fall.  In my region of the state, it normally starts blooming in October and continues into November.  These panicles are rather "regular", not overly arching and definitely not lop-sided off the main stem. 

This is an extremely attractive species that is quite easy to grow, but consideration must be given to its aggressive nature.  It performs best in expansive landscapes where its dense stems can serve to screen adjacent views or structures.  It is a very poor choice for small landscaped areas or in situations where a wide diversity of wildflowers is desired.

Pinebarren goldenrod is frequently propagated by members of FANN - the Florida Association of Native Nurseries, and can usually be located for home landscapes. 

Solidago sempervirens - Seaside goldenrod

Seaside goldenrod (Solidago sempervirens) is perhaps the most distinctive species among Florida's goldenrods.  Found throughout much of Florida, but primarily within our coastal counties, this species is both robust and evergreen.  Though its common name suggests it to be "seaside", it also is resident to most states and provinces in the eastern half of North America.

As its Latin name indicates, seaside goldenrod is not entirely deciduous like other Florida species.  Over winter, it maintains its large strap-like leaves.  Then, in early spring, it begins its upward growth.  This occurs throughout the summer and early fall.  By its late fall blooming season, seaside goldenrod may stand 8 feet tall. 

The foliage also stays rather robust up the stem to the flower head.  The leaves are thick and elliptical, with few teeth along the margin.  Like all goldenrods, it forms multi-stemmed colonies over time, but it does not produce underground rhizomes that would allow it to aggressively sucker as some.  It also spreads easily from seed and new plants are likely to arise almost anywhere from plants not deadheaded and allowed to shed their cottony seed.

Seaside goldenrod blooms most abundantly in late fall.  The flower heads are held somewhat upright as spires; not at all angles like some that also arch over.  These bright golden heads of flowers attract a wide assortment of pollinators - as all goldenrods do. Its just that their sheer numbers make this species especially good for migrating monarch butterflies and a great many bees.

Seaside goldenrod is widely propagated for home landscapes and restoration projects by nurseries affiliated with FANN - the Florida Association of Native Nurseries.  It makes a stunning landscape addition, but I believe it looks best when planted in mass and in expansive settings.  Its very large size and tendency to spread make it a poor choice in small areas or areas not confined well by concrete.

Goldenrods - Solidago spp.

There is no better harbinger of fall than goldenrods (Solidago spp.). Their bright yellow blooms can be spectacular and their generally robust nature makes them stand out wherever they occur.  These blooms are excellent nectar sources for pollinating insects.  No garden should be without at least some goldenrods for the bees and butterflies.
Florida has 19 unique species (plus two distinct varieties of one species, Solidago odora), and one species or another can be found in pretty much every habitat type throughout the state.  The problem with this diversity is that the individual species are often difficult for the average person to identify.  Most all of us are simply content to know its a goldenrod and leave it at that.  But, eventually the underlying urge to accurately name it rears its ugly head.
In the next series of posts (and over the next couple of weeks), I will attempt making them a bit easier.  Identifying individual species requires you to look at the whole picture.  It is not enough to simply look at part of it.  Often it's a combination of key characteristices that will enable you to know for certain which species you are looking at.  The most important things to notice are:
1. Habitat - Where is it growing?  Different species tend to be most often encountered in distinct habitat types. Knowing which species are most likely to be encountered where will often limit the number of species you have to sort out.
2. Blooming Season - Though most species bloom in the "fall", even that is protracted over several months.  Some goldenrods, like S. odora, are most likely to flower in the summer and some fall blooming species are most likely to bloom in early fall while others flower most commonly very late in the season. If you watch goldenrods, you may notice that there is a progression of bloom times among them.
3. Leaf Shape - Though there is always some variation within species, most goldenrods have fairly distinctive foliage.  I will try to post good photos of each of the species I have good photos of.  What is difficult to show well is the relative size of the leaves to each other.
4. Shape of the Flower Head - While many goldenrods have a loose panicle of blooms that fall away from the main stem in all directions, many others are very distinctive.  Even the "loose panicle" types are different and could be told from each other if the species were side by side...  Of course, that doesn't happen much in nature, but after some practice you will get an eye for telling them apart this way.
5. Degree of  Suckering - All goldenrods sucker.  Their root systems send rhizomes out from the main plant and these produce more stems, but not every species suckers aggressively.  Some, like the pinebarren goldenrod (S. fistulosa) (photo below shows extensive suckers of this species), produce so many suckers that they soon develop an almost monoculture of stems in well-defined patches.  Others, like Chapman's goldenrod (S. odora var. chapmanii), send far fewer suckers out and individuals are often fairly widely spaced in the landscape.
6. Relative Height - Some goldenrods, like seaside goldenrod (S. sempervirens) are giants and can reach heights well over 6 feet, while others, like wand goldenrod (S. stricta) are diminutive in comparison; standing only about 2-3 feet with their flower stalk.  Knowing the extremes and which ones fall in the middle can often help narrow the field down when trying to make an identification.

Very few of our many goldenrods are widely propagated for the home landscape, but there is some evidence that this is changing as the public comes to understand the genus a bit better and looks for some of the better species for landscape settings.  So - stayed tuned for my future posts on the individual speces - and start to look for them as our summer turns to fall and winter.

Catesby's (Pine) Lily - Lilium catesbaei

Catesby's lily (Lilium catesbaei), also known as the "pine lily", is the most widely distributed member of this genus in Florida.  Found nearly statewide in moist pinelands and open savannas and prairies, Catesby's lily is still a rather uncommon occurrence and is listed as a state-threatened species.  Though widespread, it is extremely sensitive to growing conditions and requires just the right combination of soil moisture, light, and fertility to prosper.  Catesby's lily occurs in similar habitats in much of the Southeastern Coastal Plain - from Louisiana to Virginia and is only listed in Florida.
It is resident to open habitats that routinely become wet to saturated during the summer rainy season.  In the pine flatwoods where I have studied them for many years, they are found in the lower pockets that remain moister than the norm.  In wet flatwoods and prairies, such as Kissimmee Prairie Preserve State Park, they are more uniformly distributed.  Catesby's lilies also require high light levels to prosper.  Areas that become overgrown due to lack of regular fire, soon lose their lily population.  Plants may linger as bulbs beneath the soil surface for years, but may not even produce leaves while they wait for things to open up.  Plants quickly respond to fire; both because it reduces competition from neighboring plants (especially the woody ones) and because it provides a shot of fertilizer in the ash.  Areas that have recently been burned often have significantly larger populations of blooming lilies.
Like other lilies, Catesby's lily loses its leaves in late fall and produces new ones in early spring.  In plants that should bloom, a dense rosette of linear, pointed leaves arises around the bulb; each leaf about 2-3 inches long.  The flower stalk eventually emerges from this rosette in early summer and elongates throughout the next 3 months or so.  By early September, it reaches its mature height of about 2-3 feet.
Individual plants rarely produce more than 1 flower, but these are spectacular.  The blooms vary in color from yellow (a fairly rare color) to almost red, but most are a brilliant orange with darker spots near the base of each petal.  The amount of spotting is also extremely variable - this is seen from my photographs above.  Each flower is 3-4 inches across and remains open for about a week.  They attract a variety of pollinators, but seem to be pollinated mostly by large swallowtail butterflies - especially Palamedes and Spicebush. Blooming in Pinellas County may start in early September and sometimes lingers into December if below freezing temperatures don't arrive.
Pollinated flowers produced elliptical seed capsules about 2 months later.  Each produces hundreds of papery seeds, designed to blow away a short distance from the parent plant.  Few seeds eventually grow into new lilies and it takes several years before they reach maturity and produce flowers.  Plants are also generated by the bulbs.  Like other lilies, mature bulbs produce "bulblets" off the side and these can produce new plants as well.
Though beautiful, Catesby's lily is not easy to grow in the landscape or easy to propagate from seed.  For this reason, it is rarely offered for sale by commercial nurseries - in Florida or elsewhere.  I have had success growing it in my landscape by planting it in large landscape pots set inside a large saucer.  The pots allow me to regulate the potting soil and light, and the large saucer maintains the moisture.  During the summer when rains are more predictable, the saucer stays full and the soil in the pot remains nearly saturated.  Under these conditions, my lilies have fared very well.  I have never had this type of success planting the bulbs directly into my landscape.
Hopefully, this species will become more widely propagated and put into the hands of gardeners capable of growing it.  Catesby's lily is one of my favorite Florida wildflowers and I get a thrill each year when thery come into bloom.  Take a hike through a wet flatwood or prairie in late September-October and look for them. 

Michaux's (Carolina) Lily - Lilium michauxii

Thanks to a reader of this blog, Ellen Honeycutt, I have corrected this post.  What I had previously identified from my recent photographs as Turkscap lily (L. superbum), is in fact Michaux's lily (L. michauxii).  Both lilies are species I am not well familiar with in the field, but I think I have them better sorted out now.  Thanks, Ellen!

Michaux's (or Carolina) lily (Lilium michauxii) is a rather common occurrence in the Southeast, but an exceedingly rare species in Florida. It has been reported only from four counties in Florida: Jackson, Gadsden, Walton, and Liberty Counties in mesic woodlands in the central panhandle and is listed here as a state endangered species. Carolina lily is at the southern end of its geographic range in Florida. It occurs north of us throughout much of the Southeast from Texas to Virginia.

I have never seen this species in Florida. These photos were taken in western North Carolina in the mountains along the Blue Ridge Parkway. Here, the plant is commonly seen on open and partly shady slopes in the understory of deciduous forests. Michaux's lily is somewhat similar to another even rarer Florida lily, turkscap lily (L. superbum), but there are some distinct differences.  Turkscap generally stands taller and produces multiple buds and flowers atop its stems.   Turkscap flowers also have a distinctive green "star" pattern inside the throat of the open flower - caused by a triangular green region at the base of each petal. These photos of one of the many Michaux's lilies I recently saw near Cullowhee, North Carolina, show the typical characteristics of this species: smaller stature and single flower atop the stem with no "star" pattern.  The leaves of both are also different.  Michaux's lily has thicker, "fleshier" leaves than turkscap.

Michaux's lily is a beautiful species, but I have always loved lilies in general. Mature specimens reach 2-4 feet in height by their mid-summer blooming time. Though deciduous during the winter, they reach their mature height quickly by early summer. The lanceolate leaves are whorled along the stem and come up nearly to the top; just beneath the buds.
Flowering occurs in the summer and can last for several weeks once it begins. The large buds are produced at the top of the stalks. This is a few-flowered species, like the also-rare panhandle lily (L. iridollae) I have written about previously.  Each plant produces 1 to several flowers per stem; rarely up to 4. These buds open into impressive bright orange flowers with dark spots near the throat. The flowers nod downwards and the petals curl backwards. Each flower may be 3-4 inches across and remains open for about a week. Lily flowers attract butterflies and bees.
Michaux's lily is offered for sale by several native plant sources outside of Florida, but has never been made available by any nursery that I am aware of from Florida. Although I have had success growing other native lilies at Hawthorn Hill, I have never been successful in getting my Michaux's to bloom. Perhaps part of that problem has been the source of my plants, but it also may be my inability to give it the conditions it needs. Each year, my bulbs emerge in the spring, but do little else.
As I grapple with trying to figure my own plants out, I maintain hope that this species will someday be propagated by a Florida native plant nursery. Our native lilies are not easy in a home landscape setting, but I have had success with Catesby's (L. catesbaei) and panhandle lilies by growing them in pots where I can better control light, moisture, and soil conditions.  Under such culture, they have proven to be excellent additions to my wildflower landscape and not that difficult.  If you are a lily admirer, it may be the your best approach as well.

Pineland Daisy - Chaptalia tomentosa

Pineland daisy (Chaptalia tomentosa) is also sometimes called "sunbonnet", but I have not yet found a reference to explain why. The Latin name is a reference to the wooliness of both the leaves and stems.  Pineland daisy occurs throughout all of Florida, except the extreme southern tip, and in much of the Southeastern Coastal Plain from Texas to North Carolina. It is one of only two members of this genus in Florida.  The other, C. albicans, is a state threatened species found only in Miami-Dade County.

Pineland daisy is one of the state's most unique asters and can be confused with almost nothing else once you get to know it.  For most of the year, it exists as a rosette of elongated basal leaves.  Each leaf is 4-6 inches long and deep green on the surface.  The lower surface is covered by a dense mat of white wooly felt.  Over time, individual plants produce mats of multiple plants and small colonies become evident.

Unlike most asters, pineland daisy blooms in the spring.  Multiple flower stalks arise from the center of the basal leaves and each stands 6-8 inches tall.  Oftentimes, the buds are pinkish in color and the undersides of the petals may be that color also.  Normally, the ray and disk flowers are pure white. These extrude from the partially closed bud. The disk flowers themselves having a shape unlike any aster.

Pineland daisy is a wetland plant and it occurs at the edge of freshwater marshes and savannas as well as in wet pine flatwoods.  I have tried to grow this plant many times in my Pinellas landscape, but it does not adapt well to average soil mositure and it has always faded when times become droughty.  For that reason, it has been my experience that it can only be kept in soils that remain moist.  It also prefers filtered sun or some protection from full sun.

This is an interesting and beautiful wildflower and I look for it each spring if I am hiking anywhere in Florida where the trails become moist.  It is not grown commercially in Florida and is unlikely to be in the future.  It has sometimes been offered by out of state sources, but I would be hesistant to try those unless they came from an adjacent state.  This seems to me to simply be a species we should admire in the wild and appreciate when we find it.