Hi, I know Solidago is a tricky genus but this species has some unusual characteristics...all I could come up with was S. gigantea....is it this one? Plants have strongly recurved stems, glaucous beautiful purple stems even prettier in shaded specimens. Found in western NC mtns....seems to prefer a bit of shade but can survive in sun. Generally a clumping species...doesn't spread like S. altissimum and is not that tall...I'd say average about 3-4 ft.
Need more info...flowers etc. Suggestion only.... Solidago caesia (axillary goldenrod, blue-stem goldenrod): Go Botany
Thank-you for suggestion but I should have included this info in post: A month or so off flowering but can eliminate some species that I have also...it is not S. caesia or S. flexicaulis (I am in woodland and these grow here but as a comparison...this unknown is a little taller/more robust than the S. caesia or S. flexicaulis but nothing like S. altissimum or S. rugosa.) I bought S. arguta and S. curtisii to compare. I have S. odora, S. altissimum, S. rugosa and S. juncea....it is not S. canadensis nor is it S. ulmifolia. Yes I am in the land of Solidago :) ...and not S. speciosa (have that one too) Just want to add that if anyone has knowledge of Solidago gigantea and can tell me if this is or is not S. gigantea then this info to me is almost as important as identifying it because S. gigantea was my last guess!
I am separated from the resource I would normally use for this (Gleason and Cronquist's Manual with its accompanying illustrations) for at least another month. Maybe search by region on iNaturalist?
Thank-you Daniel. I was able to see a few more examples of S. gigantea. I believe it is S. gigantea but the hooked/curved stem which seems to be a standard feature in my "population" seems to be largely absent in the pics I was looking at. In some of the pics the inflorescence is curved but the stems are straight/unhooked. I will add pics of it when it flowers. I see there are a couple of varieties within the species but these seem to be more based on leaf width, nothing mentioned about stem.
