Gillman’s Goldenrod
Scientific name: Solidago gillmanii
Photo credit: Judith Jones, reproduced from the version available on the Government of Canada website
Status
Endangered
“Endangered” means the species lives in the wild in Ontario but is facing imminent extinction or extirpation.
Date added to the Species at Risk in Ontario List
January 26, 2022
Read the assessment report (PDF)
What it looks like
Gillman’s Goldenrod is an herbaceous perennial plant that grows to 30-120 cm in height. It has tiny yellow flowers clustered into heads. It can be easily mistaken for Hairy Goldenrod (Solidago hispida) and Bog Goldenrod (Solidago uliginosa), which can occur in the same habitats.
Where it lives
This plant is only found in open Great Lakes sand dunes with sparse vegetation and patches of bare sand on the shores of Lake Michigan and northern Lake Huron in Wisconsin, Michigan, Indiana and Ontario.
Where it’s been found in Ontario
In Ontario, Gillman’s Goldenrod is only known to occur in two locations on Great Duck Island in northern Lake Huron, south of Manitoulin Island.
What threatens it
Gillman’s Goldenrod has been impacted by a decline in habitat quality due to invasive species. A significant threat to Gillman’s Goldenrodis the invasive Glandular Baby’s Breath (Gypsophila scorzonerifolia). This species is now established at one of the locations where Gillman’s Goldenrod occurs in Ontario.
Action we are taking
Endangered species and their habitat are protected under Ontario’s Endangered Species Act, 2007.
Recovery strategy
A recovery strategy advises the ministry on ways to ensure healthy numbers of the species return to Ontario.
Read the executive summary and the full document (September 6, 2022).
Government response statement
A government response statement outlines the actions the government intends to take or support to help recover the species.
Read the government response statement (June 6, 2023)
What you can do
Report a sighting
Submit your observations of species at risk to the Natural Heritage Information Centre (NHIC), which is Ontario’s conservation data centre. Join the “(NHIC) Rare Species of Ontario” project in iNaturalist to make submitting your observations quick and easy.
Volunteer
Volunteer with species at risk programs, such as community science surveys, through your local nature club, a provincial park or other conservation organizations.
Be a good steward
- Individuals, communities and organizations across the province who undertake stewardship or research activities that benefit species at risk and their habitats may be eligible to receive funding through the Species at Risk Stewardship Program (SARSP). The SARSP was created to encourage people to get involved in protecting and recovering species at risk in Ontario through stewardship actions.
- Invasive species seriously threaten many of Ontario’s species at risk. To learn what you can do to help reduce the threat of invasive species, visit:
Report illegal activity
Report any illegal activity related to species at risk to
Quick facts
- Gillman’s Goldenrod is only found in open Great Lakes sand dunes with sparse vegetation and patches of bare sand. This type of ecological community is rare in Ontario.
- In Ontario, the range of Gillman’s Goldenrod only occurs in northern Lake Huron.