| Author | (Michaux) Greene | |
| Distribution | Occurs only in the southwestern Coastal Plain, but not in the Sandhills region. Known from just Cumberland, Robeson, and Columbus counties in the state.
This species has a very restricted and local range, ranging north to southeastern NC and south to eastern GA, and then west to eastern AL. It is disjunct to the FL Panhandle and to southern MS.
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| Abundance | Very rare within NC, but where it does occur, it can be a common “ground cover” on the sand ridges where it is found. It is a State Endangered species. | |
| Habitat | This species occurs on very deep sands of fluvial sand ridges of rivers (i.e., the Lumber River) and on a few sand rims of Carolina bays. In these habitats, it is usually found in full sun -– in the Sand Barren natural community. |
| Phenology | It blooms and fruits from late July into October. | |
| Identification | This species resembles no other plant in the Southeast. It is the only woody “goldenrod”, being a semi-evergreen shrub that grows only to 1-2 feet high. It has a number of short branches close to the ground, but it sends up a flowering stalk, with leaves and many flowers, in summer. The leaves are narrow and generally elliptic, growing to 2-3 inches long. The inflorescence consists of numerous golden-yellow flowers in a panicle, typical of many goldenrod species. It grows in such xeric sands that there are often few other woody species competing with it, and stands of hundreds of plants can often be found. When it blooms, a sand ridge can be spectacular with an abundance of golden-colored flowers. | |
| Taxonomic Comments | For many decades it was included with the goldenrods, as Solidago pauciflosculosa. All references now agree that it belongs in its own monotypic genus, though it can still be considered a goldenrod but not within the main "goldenrod" genus of Solidago.
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| Other Common Name(s) | None | |
| State Rank | S1 | |
| Global Rank | G4G5 | |
| State Status | E | |
| US Status | | |
| USACE-agcp | FAC link |
| USACE-emp | FAC link |
