Last updated: March 9, 2024
Place
Stop 5: Texas Goldentop (Euthamia gymnospermoides)
Quick Facts
Amenities
3 listed
Benches/Seating, Scenic View/Photo Spot, Wheelchair Accessible
Common Name: Texas Goldentop
Scientific Name: Euthamia gymnospermoides
Family Name: Asteraceae
Duration: Perennial
Size: Up to about 5 feet tall, often much shorter
Leaf Arrangement: Alternate
Blooming Months: Fall, Winter
Distribution: AR, CO, CT, IA, IN, KS, LA, MN, MO, ND, NE, NY, OK, SD, TN, TX, WI
General Description
The Texas goldentop, Euthamia gymnospermoides, is a perennial plant that was originally part of the Solidago (goldenrod) genus and is still sometimes confused with goldenrods. Texas goldentop leaves are glandular and sticky, which is a reliable way to tell them apart from their goldenrod look-alikes. They produce small yellow flowers that are typically clumped together to create patchy masses of color in the island grasslands. The blooming period of goldentop plants can range from July to October, but peak months occur in August and September. Members of this genus (Euthamia) display what is called phenotypic variation, which means that varied environments will foster visible differences in these plants.
Park Wildlife Ecology/Connections
Species in the Euthamia genus play as hosts to many moth species and also provide a nectar source for butterflies, skippers, bees, and wasps. They are especially important to pollinators during the fall because many other plants have finished flowering.
North American Ethnobotany
Limited information about the historical and cultural uses of the Texas goldentop has been recorded in common text sources. This does not mean that Native American people did not use it, only that information regarding its use is not as circulated. More generally, the Chippewa and Ojibwa people used another species of goldentop for chest pain, and the Potawatomi people used the same species to treat certain kinds of fevers. The Ojibwa people regarded a closely related Euthamia species as a hunting medicine. The flowers were dried and smoked, and the smell emitted resembled the odor of deer hooves. The simulated odor would then attract deer.