Family: Asteraceae, Aster view all from this family

Description Habit: native perennial herb; very salt-tolerant; 1-20 or more erect, leafy stems rise from an evergreen basal rosette.
Height: 1.5-8 ft (.4-2.3 m).
Leaf: waxy, thick, fleshy, oblong, pointed; in basal rosette, with winged stalk, 4-16 in (10-40 cm) long, .5-2.5 in (1-6 cm) wide; above, stalkless, smaller, fewer.
Flower: small, daisy-like, larger than other goldenrods; held in linear cluster, 2-5 in (5-13 cm) wide, on top side of arching branch.
Fruit: tiny dry seed, to 1/16 in (1.5 mm) long; tipped with bristles, to 3/16 in (4 mm) long.

Flower July to November.

Flower August - October

Habitat Sunny, well-drained sites with saline soil: salt marshes, dunes, beaches, roadsides where road salts are used; also cultivated as an ornamental.

Range Native to Eastern Seaboard and Gulf Coast: Gulf of St. Lawrence, to Maine, to Florida, to Texas, beyond to central America and the northern West Indies; now naturalized in the Great Lakes region, near the Detroit River, around Lake Erie, and at the southern end of Lake Michigan.

Discussion Native to the Atlantic and Gulf Coasts, this plant's adaptation to high salinity has allowed it to naturalize in areas where roads are salted in the winter. Two varieties are recognized apart from the species.

Comments Pinch the growing tips in June for a more compact plant. This goldenrod does not spread by rhizomes or become invasive. It is resistant to salt spray.

Exposure Preference Sun.

Native Distribution Coastal areas from Newfoundland. to Florida, Texas & Mexico

Site Preference Saline places along the coast

Soil Preference Sandy soils.