המועדפים של wdvanhem

Credit to @wdvanhem for spotting this anomaly in a previous observation (https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/25495428). After revisiting the immediate area, most plants appear to be L. acuminata ssp. acuminata, but this seems to have potential for L. acuminata ssp. carolinae. Possibly more plants in the vicinity (only checked where the previous observation was).

Per FNA:
1 Inflorescences simple, with occasional branch from near base of flower 2a var. acuminata

• Inflorescences usually branching, with pedicels commonly paired 2b var. carolinae

Ebinger (1962) article and Weakley (2022) mention other traits relating to apical appendage of seeds (see second last photo). The collected plant has 11 primary pedicels, 4 with secondary pedicels, but this was the "most branched" specimen I could find (secondary to primary ratio of 0.36). At about 1mm in length on three immature seeds viewed, these would be at the upper limit for var. carolinae and well-within the range for acuminata.

The observed plant appears to be a goldenrod. It was growing within a dense colony of Solidago ptarmicoides (Oligoneuron album), a plant very common at this location. The plant was the same height as O. album and stood out only because of the flower color. I was unable to find any morphological differences between the stem and leaves of the observed plant and three typical neighbouring plants of O. album. My best guess is that it is either an aberrant form of or a hybrid of O. album. This taxon is known to form hybrids with other Oligoneuron species but none of these occur at this location. Perhaps someone with a deeper knowledge of goldenrods can provide some insight.