Sweet Goldenrod (Solidago odora Aiton)
Also known as anise-scented goldenrod, anisescented goldenrod, fragrant goldenrod.
↑Summary
A clumping perennial of nutrient-poor, acidic soils, with distinctive anise-scented leaves.
↑Range - Expand
| Legend | Color |
| Native | |
| Native or Not Present |
This tentative map is based on our own research. It may have limited data on Canada and/or Mexico, and there is some subjectivity in our assignment of plants as introduced vs. expanded. Read more in this blog post.
Although this plant occurs somewhere in each of these regions, it may only occur in a small part of some or all of them.
↑Similar Plants
↑Habitat
Sweet goldenrod occurs in a range of habitats with acidic, nutrient-poor soils, occasionally in full sun but usually in partly-shaded conditions such as those from a thin or open forest canopy. Natural habitats include open forests, savannas, and forest clearings, particularly where pines are dominant, sandstone barrens, pine barrens, coastal sand dunes, inland sandhills, and various scrub communities. It also occurs in anthropogenic habitats including roadsides, old fields, and vacant beach lots. It is common in the coastal plain but becomes progressively rarer moving inland.
It can occur in a wide range of soil textures, most often those with significant sand content, as well as clay content. It is usually absent from loam or clay-loam, but can occur on sandy loam, loamy sand, sandy clay, and also on sandy peat. Although not usually found on rocky soils, it can occur on rocky ridges on rocks such as sandstone that tend to weather into the acidic, sandy soils it prefers. It is more particular about soil pH than texture, usually being absent form all but acidic soils. It has moderate salt tolerance.
It is often found in habitats that burn regularly, as often as annually, and responds best to summer burns, but it often declines in the absence of fire and on many sites will be eliminated if there is no fire.
It is negatively affected by soil disturbance and has usually been eliminated from, and does not usually recolonize, sites with a history of agriculture. It also has been eliminated from sites following military training, probably due to soil disturbance caused by the training.
↑Life Cycle
Sweet goldenrod is a clump-forming perennial with numerous adaptations to fire and drought.
Plants are not rhizomatous, instead forming a branching caudex from which multiple stems, usually up to 5, rarely more, emerge from a central rootstock. The leaf surface area is small, especially relative to other plants that tend to grow in equally shady conditions, and the leaves are rather tough.
The root system is fibrous. As plants grow, they invest significant energy in the root system, storing energy in corms in preparation for the plant being top-killed. In dry habitats, the clumping habit and root system draws water and nutrients away from the plant's surroundings, usually leading to a zone devoid of vegetation around the base of the plant. The clumps can collect litter that blows in in the wind, helping the plant to thrive in nutrient-poor conditions.
Plants resprout vigorously following a fire, and usually flower more abundantly then as well. The timing of the fire also may alter the bloom time, setting it back if a plant is top-killed later in the growing season.
Seeds form a short-term seed bank, persisting for at least two-years, but not long-term.
We could not find information on the lifespan of individual plants, or typical causes of mortality. Based on other aspects of this plant's ecology, it is likely long-lived, and probably most likely to die from overhead shading or ground-level competition in the absence of fire, but there may be other mechanisms that kill plants following soil disturbance.
↑Uses
This species is uncommonly planted in gardens and landscaping, and is underutilized as such. It is valued for its attractive foliage, compact clumping form, and ability to thrive in difficult conditions, including both coarse sandy soils, and dry clay. This is one of many species that works best in low-maintenance gardens with little to no soil enrichment, where dry conditions and poor soil minimize the need for weeding.
The aromatic leaves are occasionally used as an herbal tea.
↑Links & External Resources
• Solidago odora (anisescented goldenrod) | USDA PLANTS Database (About This Site)
• Solidago odora | Go Botany (About This Site)
• Sweet Goldenrod | iNaturalist (About This Site)
• Solidago odora (Sweet Goldenrod) | Missouri Botanical Garden Plant Finder (About This Site)
• Solidago odora | Biota of North America Project (BONAP) (About This Site)
• Solidago odora | NatureServe Explorer (About This Site)
• Solidago odora | Flora of North America (About This Site)
• Anise-scented Goldenrod | Maryland Biodiversity Project (About This Site)
• Solidago odora Ait. (Sweet Goldenrod, Anise-scented Goldenrod) | Digital Atlas of the Virginia Flora (About This Site)
↑Photo gallery
