Euthamia caroliniana, known as Carolina grass-leaved goldenrod or slender goldentop is a flowering plant in the genus Euthamia, a member of the family Asteraceae. It is listed as Vulnerable due to habitat loss and disturbance within its range.
Distribution Euthamia caroliniana is found primarily on the Atlantic Coastal Plain between Nova Scotia and eastern Texas. It also has populations in the Great Lakes region and around Lake Champlain. Inland populations are also known from Indiana to Kentucky. Within its range, it can be found in open sandy areas, such as powerline cuts in pine barrens.
Identification Carolina goldentop grows up to in height from a branched, creeping rhizome. NatureServe Explorer. Accessed: May 13, 2019
Along the east coast, the only similar-looking species is grass-leaved goldentop, which has wider leaves with one to three conspicuous veins (versus narrow leaves with only one vein in Carolina goldentops).
Its range also overlaps with Great Plains goldentop in the western Great Lakes and along Gulf Coast and bushy goldentop along the Gulf Coast.
Galls This species is host to the following insect induced galls: Asteromyia euthamiae Gagné, 1968 This midge forms black spots on leaf blades Rhopalomyia fusiformae Felt, 1907 Small galls by a fly larvae on leaves, stems and flowers. external link to gallformers
Ecology E. caroliniana grows in a range of habitats such as moist forests, pastures, roadsides, ditches, and other disturbed areasWeakley, A.S. 2020. Flora of the Southeastern United States. Edition of 20 October 2020. University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, North Carolina.
It forms a persistent soil seed bank,Navarra, J. J., N. Kohfeldt, et al. (2011). "Seed bank changes with time since fire in Florida rosemary scrub." Fire Ecology 7(2). which can persist through fire disturbance.Kalmbacher, R., et al. (2005). "Seeds obtained by vacuuming the soil surface after fire compared with soil seedbank in a flatwoods plant community." Native Plants Journal 6: 233-241.
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