Solidago altissima var. pluricephala (Asteraceae: Astereae) in Australia, Tonga, and Hawaii

Herbarium collections of Solidago from Australia, Tonga, and Hawaii are reported here to be Solidago altissima L. var. pluricephala M.C. Johnston, which is previously unreported for these locations. Collections from K, MEL, and PERTH were included in a multivariate morphometric analysis comparing S. altissima, S. canadensis, S. chilensis, and S. gigantea. Also, a collection treated as S. altissima ssp. altissima from New Zealand was included in the analysis and confirmed to belong in the typical variety of the species. All specimens had densely hispid-strigose stems (sparsely to densely so proximally and densely so distally and in the inflorescence), lanceolate upper stem leaves with mostly entire margins and moderately to densely strigose abaxial main and prominent lateral veins. Specimens of var. pluricephala have secund conical inflorescences that are much longer than wide, while those of var. altissima tend to be nearly as wide as long.