Solidago albopilosa is a rare species of flowering plant in the
aster familyThe Asteraceae or Compositae , is an exceedingly large and widespread family of vascular plants. The group has more than 22,750 currently accepted species, spread across 1620 genera and 12 subfamilies...
known by the common name
white-haired goldenrod. It is endemic to the state of
KentuckyThe Commonwealth of Kentucky is a state located in the East Central United States of America. As classified by the United States Census Bureau, Kentucky is a Southern state, more specifically in the East South Central region. Kentucky is one of four U.S. states constituted as a commonwealth...
in the United States. It is threatened by recreational activities in its habitat. It is a federally listed threatened species of the United States.
This plant is a perennial herb producing one or more erect stems from a woody
caudexA caudex is a form of stem morphology appearing as a thickened, short, perennial stem that is either underground or near ground level . It may be swollen for the purpose of water storage, especially in xerophytes...
. It grows 30 to 50 centimeters tall but it can reach 1 meter in height. It is covered in white hairs. The leaves have oval or spatula-shaped serrated blades up to 8 or 9 centimeters long by 4 or 5 wide, becoming smaller toward the end of the stem. The leaf blades are "so thin that coarse print is readable through [them]." The
inflorescenceAn inflorescence is a group or cluster of flowers arranged on a stem that is composed of a main branch or a complicated arrangement of branches. Strictly, it is the part of the shoot of seed plants where flowers are formed and which is accordingly modified...
is a cluster of up to 30
flower headsThe capitulum is considered the most derived form of inflorescence. Flower heads found outside Asteraceae show lesser degrees of specialization....
, each roughly half a centimeter long. The head contains 3 to 5 tiny yellow ray florets and a few disc florets. The fruit is up to half a centimeter long including its
pappusThe pappus is the modified calyx, the part of an individual disk, ray or ligule floret surrounding the base of the corolla, in flower heads of the plant family Asteraceae. The pappus may be composed of bristles , awns, scales, or may be absent. In some species, the pappus is too small to see...
. Blooming occurs in September through November.
This plant is found in a single river canyon in Kentucky. It grows in the
Red River GorgeThe Red River Gorge is a canyon system on the Red River in east-central Kentucky. Geologically, it is part of the Pottsville Escarpment.Much of the Gorge is located inside the Daniel Boone National Forest and has been subsequently reserved as the Red River Gorge Geological Area, an area of around...
in
Daniel Boone National ForestDaniel Boone National Forest is the only national forest completely within the boundary of Kentucky. Established in 1937, it was originally named the Cumberland National Forest, after the core region called the Cumberland Purchase Unit...
in
MenifeeMenifee County is a county located in the U.S. state of Kentucky. As of 2000, the population was 6,556. Its county seat is Frenchburg. The county is named for Richard Hickman Menefee, U.S. Congressman, although the spelling has changed. It is a prohibition or dry county.Menifee County is located...
,
PowellPowell County is a county located in the U.S. state of Kentucky. As of 2000, the population is 13,237. Its county seat is Stanton. The county was formed January 7, 1852, by Kentucky Governor Lazarus W. Powell...
, and
Wolfe CountiesWolfe County is a county located in the U.S. state of Kentucky. As of 2000, the population was 7,065. Its county seat is Campton. The county is named for Nathaniel Wolfe.- Geography :...
. There it is limited to
rock shelterA rock shelter is a shallow cave-like opening at the base of a bluff or cliff....
s, open caves with overhanging rock formations. It grows on sandy soil that has accumulated on the
sandstoneSandstone is a sedimentary rock composed mainly of sand-sized minerals or rock grains.Most sandstone is composed of quartz and/or feldspar because these are the most common minerals in the Earth's crust. Like sand, sandstone may be any colour, but the most common colours are tan, brown, yellow,...
floors of the rock shelters. It grows behind the drip line, out of direct sunlight but not in the darkest shadows of the caves. Other plants in this type of habitat and the surrounding forest include
white baneberryActaea pachypoda is a flowering plant in the family Ranunculaceae, native to eastern North America....
(
Actaea pachypoda),
northern maidenhair fernAdiantum pedatum is a maidenhair fern native to moist woodland in eastern North America.Adiantum aleuticum was once considered a subspecies...
(
Adiantum pedatum),
jack in the pulpitArisaema triphyllum is a herbaceous perennial plant growing from a corm. It is a highly variable species typically growing from 30 to 65 cm in height with three parted leaves and flowers contained in a spadix that is covered by a hood...
(
Arisaema triphyllum), flowering dogwood (
Cornus florida),
yellow mandarinProsartes lanuginosa is a member of the lily family with the common name Yellow Mandarin or Fairybells....
(
Disporum lanuginosum),
smooth hydrangeaHydrangea arborescens, commonly known as Smooth Hydrangea, Wild Hydrangea, or Sevenbark, is a small to medium sized, deciduous shrub up to 3 m tall that is native to the eastern United States.-Range/Habitat:...
(
Hydrangea arborescens),
Indian cucumber-rootMedeola virginiana or Indian Cucumber-root is a perennial plant in the genus Medeola.-Description:It occurs with either a single tier or two tiers of leaves. The upper tier consists of from three to five whorled leaves on the stem above a lower tier of five to nine...
(
Medeola virginiana),
Nepalese browntopMicrostegium vimineum, commonly known as Japanese stiltgrass or Nepalese browntop, is an annual grass that is common in a wide variety of habitats and is well adapted to low light levels.-Geographic range:...
(
Microstegium vimineum),
partridge berryMitchella repens , or Partridge Berry, or Squaw Vine, is the best known plant in the genus Mitchella.It is a creeping prostrate herbaceous woody shrub, occurring in North America and Japan, and belonging to the madder family ....
(
Mitchella repens),
clearweedPilea pumila, known as Clearweed, Canadian clearweed, Coolwort, or Richweed is an annual plant native to most of North America east of the Rockies...
(
Pilea pumila),
Christmas fernPolystichum acrostichoides is an evergreen fern native to eastern North America from Nova Scotia west to Minnesota and south to Florida and eastern Texas...
(
Polystichum acrostichoides),
great rhododendronRhododendron maximum — also called great rhododendron, great laurel, rosebay rhododendron, American rhododendron or big rhododendron — is a species of Rhododendron native to eastern North America, from Nova Scotia south to northern Alabama.-Description:R. maximum is an evergreen shrub growing to 4...
(
Rhododendron maximum), poison ivy (
Toxicodendron radicans), and
maple-leaf viburnumViburnum acerifolium is a species of Viburnum, native to eastern North America from southwestern Quebec and Ontario south to northern Florida and eastern Texas....
(
Viburnum acerifolium). Roundleaf catchfly (
Silene rotundifolia) and littleflower alumroot (
Heuchera parviflora) are common associates.
The main threat to this species is damage to its habitat during recreational activities.
HikingHiking is an outdoor activity which consists of walking in natural environments, often in mountainous or other scenic terrain. People often hike on hiking trails. It is such a popular activity that there are numerous hiking organizations worldwide. The health benefits of different types of hiking...
,
campingCamping is an outdoor recreational activity. The participants leave urban areas, their home region, or civilization and enjoy nature while spending one or several nights outdoors, usually at a campsite. Camping may involve the use of a tent, caravan, motorhome, cabin, a primitive structure, or no...
, and
rock climbingRock climbing also lightly called 'The Gravity Game', is a sport in which participants climb up, down or across natural rock formations or artificial rock walls. The goal is to reach the summit of a formation or the endpoint of a pre-defined route without falling...
are popular pursuits in the area. Trampling destroys the plants, compacts the soil, and damages the seeds and
rhizomeIn botany and dendrology, a rhizome is a characteristically horizontal stem of a plant that is usually found underground, often sending out roots and shoots from its nodes...
s. Explorers invade the rock shelters and build fires, dump garbage, and dig in the soil for
archaeologicalArchaeology, or archeology , is the study of human society, primarily through the recovery and analysis of the material culture and environmental data that they have left behind, which includes artifacts, architecture, biofacts and cultural landscapes...
artifacts.
LoggingLogging is the cutting, skidding, on-site processing, and loading of trees or logs onto trucks.In forestry, the term logging is sometimes used in a narrow sense concerning the logistics of moving wood from the stump to somewhere outside the forest, usually a sawmill or a lumber yard...
, another threat, opens the forest and increases light levels, decreases water, and increases the
invasion"Invasive species", or invasive exotics, is a nomenclature term and categorization phrase used for flora and fauna, and for specific restoration-preservation processes in native habitats, with several definitions....
of
introduced speciesAn introduced species — or neozoon, alien, exotic, non-indigenous, or non-native species, or simply an introduction, is a species living outside its indigenous or native distributional range, and has arrived in an ecosystem or plant community by human activity, either deliberate or accidental...
of plants.
Conservation activities include the installation of small fences around the plants and the redirection of trails through less sensitive habitat.