3. Euthamia leptocephala (Torr. & A. Gray) Greene ex Porter
& Britton (Mississippi Valley flat-topped
goldenrod)
Solidago
leptocephala Torr. &
A. Gray
Pl. 234 a–c; Map
981
Stems 30–100 cm
long, glabrous. Leaf blades 1–10 cm long, 1–8 mm wide, relatively thin in
texture, the margins slightly roughened with minute, stout, ascending, stiff
hairs, the surfaces glabrous, slightly resinous with sparse or faint,
inconspicuous pustular-gland dots (these sometimes only observable through the
leaf by holding it up to a strong light), with 1 midvein or more commonly at
least the larger leaves often with 3 main veins, the lateral pair usually finer
than the midvein. Involucre 4–6 mm long, not or only slightly resinous, the
bracts variously rounded to sharply pointed at the tip. Ray florets 7–15, the
corollas 2–3 mm long, the short ligule ascending to somewhat spreading. Disc
florets 3–5(–9), the corolla 2.5–4.0 mm long, the lobes 0.4–0.9 mm long. 2n=18,
54. August–October.
Uncommon in the
Mississippi Lowlands Division and the adjacent portion of the Ozarks; disjunct
in Jasper County (Kentucky, Illinois, and Missouri south to Georgia and Texas).
Bottomland forests, swamps, sloughs, and less commonly mesic upland forests and
savannas; also ditches, railroads, and roadsides; often in sandy soils.