Riddell's Goldenrod

Riddell's Goldenrod

Oligoneuron riddellii

So, what is a "Goldenrod"?  Most people think of the genus Solidago, but this guy is Oligoneuron! And then there's Euthamia, the Grass-leaved Goldenrods!!

It turns out that the Oligoneuron and Euthamia species were once considered a part of the Solidago genus, but then split off.  However, the common names were still there, which were, and still are, Goldenrod.

Or, as Jim McCormac puts it, "The large catch basin of Solidago has been sliced and diced, and a few "new" genera have spewed from the taxonomists' spout."  Man, I wish I could write like that!!

Riddells's, like so many of the Goldenrods, is a favorite plant of numerous insects, particularly nectaring Buckeye butterflies.  Here's a great shot of one from Keith Board!

The pictures on this page were taken at Merry Lea Environmental Center.  It was on an old lakebed that had been drained down a long time ago and has a marly soil.


Riddell's has a more rounded inflorescence rather than a flat-topped one like Ohio Goldenrod

Riddell's leaves have the appearance of being folded in have lengthwise, then opened up, like an open book.