| Author | Small | |
| Distribution | Restricted to Stanly and Montgomery counties, only along the Yadkin River. This rare species was thought lost until independently rediscovered by A. Weakley and S. Leonard in the same week a few decades ago. It was first collected by Small in 1894, and described as a new species shortly thereafter; but later botanists assigned it to another species, not surprisingly, as who would figure a goldenrod species could be endemic to a tiny strip of river shoreline in central NC?!
Endemic to the central Piedmont of NC. | |
| Abundance | Known only from a short stretch on both east and west sides of the river, though the populations are in good to excellent condition. Normally, a species with a tiny range should and would be Federally listed, but as there is a management agreement among Alcoa and various Federal and state agencies, no such listing is forthcoming -- in part in an attempt not to draw attention of collectors to it. | |
| Habitat | Dry (but periodically inundated) sand of rocky, ledgey, and bouldery, river-scoured margins of the Yadkin River. Currently the species is restricted to a few places below hydroelectric dams.
See also Habitat Account for Piedmont and General Rocky Rivers | |
| Phenology | Flowering and fruiting September-October, depending on water levels. | |
| Identification | Yadkin River Goldenrod grows 1-3 feet tall and has slender (linear to narrowly elliptic) leaves and a long, slender inflorescence of upright branches (i.e., narrowly conical or steeple-shaped). The lowermost stem leaves and basal leaves form a conspicuous tuft. It cannot be misidentified in its specialist habitat, amid rocks along the Yadkin River. | |
| Taxonomic Comments | None. Even though it had been named over a century ago by Small, hardly any references accepted this species until a few decades ago -- owing to general skepticism of acceptance to species level of any vascular plant limited to only a few acres of habitat.
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| Other Common Name(s) | Plumed Goldenrod, Plumose Goldenrod | |
| State Rank | S1 | |
| Global Rank | G1 | |
| State Status | T | |
| US Status | | |
| USACE-agcp | | |
| USACE-emp | | |
