1	Arrays club-shaped to subracemiform; leaves not 3-nerved, sometimes fleshy and waxy; caudices short-branched; usually boggy, marshy ground or stream margins		(2)
+	Arrays pyramidal to rhombic or obpyramidal, never racemiform; leaves waxy, not fleshy, sometimes 3-nerved; caudices short to long rhizomatous		(4)
2 (1)	Phyllaries narrowly ovate to lanceolate, margins flat, obtuse to acuminate; rays usually 8–12; boggy or marshy grounds, alkaline meadows and hot springs, Nevada and adjacent states		46 Solidago spectabilis
+	Phyllaries narrowly linear-triangular, margins revolute distally, sharply acute; rays usually 5–10; wetter areas, along streams, c, s California into Mexico		(3)
3 (2)	Leaf lengths usually less than 10 times widths; arrays usually paniculiform-thyrsiform; c, s California		47 Solidago confinis
+	Leaf lengths usually 10+ times longer widths; arrays narrowly paniculiform or racemiform; (along streams) vicinity of San Carlos and San Benito peaks, San Benitoand Fresno counties, California		48 Solidago guiradonis
4 (1)	Stems from elongated creeping rhizomes; proximal and mid stem leaves often 3-nerved; prairies and prairielike habitats, mostly w of Mississippi River into Rocky Mountains		45 Solidago missouriensis
+	Stems from short thick rhizomes or caudices; proximal and mid stem leaves multinerved, rarely 3-nerved; fields, disturbed areas, glades in e Canada and United States		(5)
5 (4)	Rays mostly 7–13; disc florets mostly 8–12; widely distributed, Nova Scotia to Manitoba, s to Alabama and Arkansas		42 Solidago juncea
+	Rays mostly 3–8; disc florets mostly 3–9		(6)
6 (5)	Distal leaves ± spreading or reflexed, bearing axillary fascicles of reduced leaves; piedmont and Atlantic Coastal Plain; North Carolina, adjacent South Carolina, se Virginia		43 Solidago pinetorum
+	Distal leaves closely ascending or appressed, usually without axillary fascicles; cedar barrens, limestone ledges, and glades; Arkansas, Missouri, Tennessee		44 Solidago gattingeri