Foothills, montane, subalpine. Meadows, woodland openings. Summer, fall.
Fish Creek Trail, August 9, 2005.

Solidago canadensis is a common late summer and fall golden glow in almost all U.S. states and Canadian provinces.  In the Four Corners area it grows singly, as in this picture, in open woods or it can grow in large groupings in open meadows and hillsides.  It arches gently and flowers are borne on one side of the stem  --  as the picture below shows.

Linnaeus named this species from a Canadian specimen in 1753.

Foothills, montane, subalpine. Meadows, woodland openings. Summer, fall.
Fish Creek Trail, August 9, 2005.

Foothills, montane, subalpine. Openings, woodlands. Summer.
Kilpacker Trail, July 22, 2004.

This is a very common plant of open forests and mountainsides.  Because it often grows in small, dense patches and has numerous small flowers, it can give the impression of a very small fuzzy-top shrub.  It grows to over two feet tall, but in 2004 when this picture was taken, plants were often less than a foot tall.

The first specimen was collected in eastern Canada in 1765.

Foothills, montane, subalpine. Openings, woodlands. Summer.
Colorado Trail above Roaring Fork, July 26, 2004.

Montane, subalpine, alpine. Meadows. Summer.
Haviland Lake Trail, June 28, 2004.

This Solidago is widespread from Alaska down the Rockies to Mexico to Quebec to Virginia.  It grows from an inch tall in tundra to a foot-and-a-half tall in more hospitable environments.  It is usually shorter than S. multiradiata (above) and has about eight rays per flower whereas S. multiradiata has about thirteen.  Both have very bright golden yellow flowers which give the plants a very fuzzy soft appearance.

"Simplex" is Latin for "simple".  The plant was first collected for science near Santa Rosa, Mexico in 1820 by Humboldt.

Montane, subalpine, alpine. Meadows. Summer.
Haviland Lake Trail, July 23, 2005.

Click for more Solidago simplex photographs.