Cytogeography of the Solidago rugosa Mill. Complex (Asteraceae: Astereae) in Eastern North America

Abstract

Chromosome numbers are reported here for the first time from 117 individuals of Solidago rugosa and S. fistulosa. Including 178 previously published reports for the two species plus S. latissimifolia, chromosome numbers have been determined from 295 individuals from 269 locations. Only diploids (2n = 18) were found throughout the range of S. fistulosa on the coastal plain in the eastern U.S.A. (44 counts). Diploids (2n = 18) were found in the northern portion of the range of S. latissimifolia, and tetraploids (2n = 36) and hexaploids (2n = 54) were found in the central and southern portions of the range (nine counts in total). Diploids (2n = 18) were found throughout the range of S. rugosa in much of eastern North America in four of the five varieties (northern var. rugosa, var. sphagnophila; southern var. aspera and var. celtidifolia). Tetraploids (2n = 36) were found in all four of these varieties and exclusively in var. cronquistiana in the southern high Appalachian Mountains. Hexaploids (2n = 54) were found in var. sphagnophila at scattered locations. One possible hexaploid in var. rugosa was found in the Allegheny Mountains. The diversity in ploidy levels was independent of the size of the range and the diversity of growing conditions among the three species of S. subsect. Venosae.

Goldenrod herbariomics: Hybrid‐sequence capture reveals the phylogeny of Solidago

“…; and (3) the mostly diploid S. nemoralis of open disturbed soils of eastern North America (Brammall and Semple, 1990). The position of this clade was one of the more surprising results, as these three species have historically been grouped (e.g., Semple et al, 1990; Nesom, 1993; Semple, 2016; Semple et al, 2018) with species now placed by Semple and Beck (2021) in S . subg.…”

“…Sister to the rest of the subgenus is S. ericamerioides , a little‐known subshrub of unknown ploidy native to a gypsum cliff in west‐central Nuevo León, Mexico (Nesom, 1989), comprising the monotypic Solidago sect. Suffrutescentes (Semple and Beck, 2021). Solidago ericamerioides is delimited by being a woody lower‐stemmed perennial with leaf bases persisting on stems with short internodes for more than a season, a character‐state shared with C. pauciflosculosa .…”

“…Semple and Beck (2021) listed heads in racemiform or paniculiform inflorescences as the defining character of Solidago subg. Solidago (98% ASBS; 100% MLBS)—the only exception being the usually flat‐topped inflorescence of S. kurilensis Juz.…”

Allelopathic Activity of Canadian Goldenrod (Solidago canadensis L.) Extracts on Seed Germination and Growth of Lettuce (Lactuca sativa L.) and Garden Pepper Cress (Lepidium sativum L.)

“…There are about 140 species of Solidago L. (Asteraceae) in the world, of which 115 are native to North America, around 8 species originate from Mexico, and about 13 species are indigenous to South America, the Azores, Europe and Asia [ 1 ]. All Solidago species found in local flora or cultivated as ornamentals are herbaceous and rhizomatous perennials (up to 2.5 m in height) with yellow ray florets.…”

“…Solidago canadensis L., commonly known as Canadian goldenrod, native to N. America is widely spread throughout Europe, Asia (China, Russia, Japan, and Taiwan), Australia and N. Zealand, where it is considered an aggressive invasive weed [ 2 , 3 , 4 ]. The taxon is highly diverse, prone to hybridization, and therefore characterized by extensive polyploidy [ 1 , 2 , 5 , 6 , 7 , 8 ]. It is known that two N. American invasive species, S. canadensis and S. gigantea Aiton, can hybridize with the European native S. virgaurea L. producing the hybrids S. × niederederi Khek (hybrid between S. canadensis and S. virgaurea ) and S. × snarskisii (hybrid between S. gigantea and S. virgaurea ) [ 5 , 6 , 7 , 8 , 9 ].…”