Plants (3-)10-30(-80) cm; caudices branched. Stems 1-10(-30+), decumbent to erect, slender, tufted, proximally glabrous or sparsely hairy, densely short-hispido-strigose in arrays. Leaves: basal and proximal cauline petiolate; petioles winged, margins ciliate; blades linear-oblanceolate to spatulate, 10-170 × 3-30 mm, serrate to crenate near apices; distal cauline sessile; blades sometimes subclasping stems, ovate to linear-lanceolate, 16-20 × 7-11 mm, margins often distinctly ciliate. Heads 4-75(-100+) , not secund, in dense, round-topped corymbiform arrays; branches white villous. Peduncles 5-6 mm, villous; bracteoles 0-2, linear-lanceolate to lanceolate. Involucres 4-8 mm. Phyllaries unequal to subequal, outer linear-lanceolate to lanceolate, lengths ± 2 / 3 inner, margins ciliate, apices acute to attenuate. Ray florets 12-18; laminae 3-4 × 0.5-1 mm. Disc florets 10-35; corollas 3-5 mm, lobes 0.3-1 mm. Cypselae 1.5-4 mm, sparsely to moderately strigose; pappi 3-4 mm (inner bristles clavate). 2n = 18, 36.
Flowering Jul-Sep. Tundra and tundralike habitats, alpine slopes and meadows; 0-3700 m; Alta., B.C., Man., N.B., Nfld. and Labr., N.W.T., N.S., Nunavut, Ont., Que., Sask., Yukon; Alaska, Ariz., Calif., Colo., Idaho, Mont., N.Mex., Oreg., Utah, Wash., Wyo.
Solidago multiradiata is the North American species most closely related to S. virgaurea, the type species of the genus, native to mostly arctic and alpine regions of Eurasia. Plants of S. multiradiata from the Rocky Mountains have been treated as var. scopulorum; they differ so little from those of other parts of the range that recognition of the variety without further support does not appear justified.
General: Perennial, 3-80 cm tall; stems 1-10 or more, decumbent to erect, slender, glabrous to sparsely hairy towards the base, often densely hispid-strigose in the inflorescence; caudex branched. Leaves: Basal (sometimes present at flowering) and cauline, alternate, linear-oblanceolate or spatulate to ovate or linear-lanceolate, 2-17 cm long, 7-30 mm wide, basal and lower cauline blades largest, reduced upwards, sometimes 3-veined, glabrous, margins serrate, crenate, or sometimes entire, often distinctly ciliate; basal and lower cauline blades petiolate, the petiole winged, upper cauline blades sessile, sometimes clasping the stem. Flowers: Heads numerous, crowded, secund, arranged in panicle-like arrays; branches spreading and recurved; involucres narrowly campanulate, 3-4 mm long; phyllaries numerous, in 3 series, strongly unequal, the outer lanceolate, the inner linear-lanceolate; ray flowers mostly 8-13, 0.7-2.5 mm long, yellow; disk flowers mostly 3-6, 2.3-3.6 mm long, yellow; flowers August-October. Fruits: Achene, 1.5-4 mm long, narrowly obconic to cylindric, sparsely to moderately strigose; pappus bristles in 2 series, 3-4 mm long. Ecology: Rocky sites, tundra, alpine and subalpine slopes and meadows; 2600-3700 m (8500-12000 ft); Apache and Coconino counties; Canada, western U.S., Mexico. Notes: This species is best distinguished from our other goldenrods by its conspicuously ciliate-margined leaves, dense inflorescences, and preference for higher elevation habitats. An excellent species for restoration plantings, Solidago multiradiata may be propagated by seed or by division. Editor: Springer et al. 2008
