1765 Solidago virgaurea L. complex

This variable species forms together with S. dahurica Kitag. and S. multiradiata Ait. a complex with circumpolar distribution (Hultén, Circumpol. Il, p. 354 f. and map 124). S. virgaurea subsp. virgaurea occurs in nearly the whole of Europe and extends towards C. Siberia, where it is replaced by S. dahurica and, in E. Asia, S. virgaurea subsp. leiocarpa (Benth.) Hult. Within subsp. virgaurea a few taxa are distinguished, e. g. var. lapponica Wahlenb. in the Fennoscandian mountains and on the Kola Peninsula. The closely related S. multiradiata in N. America is represented there by the species s. str. through the north of the continent, var. arctica (DC.) Fem. in Alaska and the Aleutians and var. scopulorum Gray in the Rocky Mts.