Higher up on the dry rocky banks
is the gray or field golden-rod, whose small leaves are covered with
grayish down and whose rather short stem is topped by a flattish
pyramid of brilliant yellow flowers. This is one of the early
golden-rods, but it lasts well into the fall. Another handsome species
which is fairly common is the solidago rigida, or hard-leaved
golden-rod, whose leaves are thick, rough and fairly broad, the lower
ones sometimes a foot long, and whose flower clusters form a broad
flat top. Each cluster is very large, containing twenty-five or thirty
flowers if you care to pull one to pieces and count them. One stem
will have several hundred of these flower clusters and each cluster
contains twenty-five flowers on an average, a fine example of Nature's
wealth and bounty. Perhaps the most handsome species of all, here in
Iowa, is the solidago speciosa, or the showy golden-rod, which
sometimes grows five, six or seven feet high in rich soil, with a
stout, smooth stem and big, smooth leaves, the lower ones broadly oval
and sometimes from four to ten inches long and one to four inches
wide. The Missouri golden-rod is a slender and dainty species with
long, narrow leaves, their margins very rough, as you may tell by
drawing your fingers along them.
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