Autumn Goldenrod or False Goldenrod,
Solidago sphacelata
Asteraceae or Sunflower Family

Small plant to about 2 to 3 feet tall. Flowerheads with a few yellow flowers. Heads are in loose, slender spikes, often curving. Leave vary from top to bottom. Lower leaves (left below) large, heart-shaped, coarsely and deeply toothed. Middle leaves (middle below) smaller, egg-shaped, with winged leafstalks, and a few small teeth. Upper leaves (right below) smaller still, shaped like the middle ones, and untoothed. Blooms in autumn.

A native woodland goldenrod. In Wildwood, common in the woodland on the east slope.

Most Park goldenrods are plants of open areas. Broad-leaved goldenrod (S. flexicaulis) has more globular flower clusters and larger leaves, all of which have long teeth.