Looks like some type of goldenrod, Solidago species. Maybe S. ohioensis. It produces flowers in a slightly flattened or domed corymb rather than spiky racemes.

Perhaps Oligoneuron rigidum, formerly Solidago rigida?

Oh boy, both of these look possible. There is a lot of goldenrod in the meadow so I think that's probably correct. The leaves looked rather fleshy which threw me off. I'll have to take another look when I go back. Thank you both.

load the app called SEEK by iNaturalist which will allow you to take a picture and identify the plant / animal. when i used the app it says " Stiff-leaved goldenrod" "solidago rigida" stay inspired !

Apps are not always reliable, and I definitely wouldn't pay for any.

its free

but if you use the app... you lose the conversations we have ...

its also free when you go in nature.. to turn off the gizmo .. and better yet.. leave it at home.. of course then.. you cant take the pic to come ask here.. there is always a rub.. lol ...

ken

true, but i recntly hiked the grand canyon, brice canyon and zion and my kids went nuts identifying plans and animals and then referencing the app on our smart phones to confirm the names. it was pretty amazing and very interesting and fun. i asked one of our landscape architects and he said its a great resource and is pretty accurate...

I've yet to encounter any plant ID app nearly as accurate as many of those - like Jay - who respond to the Name That Plant forum. Most are a waste of time.

btw, landscape architects are notoriously ill-informed about plant ID as it is not part of most Landscape Architecture college curriculums. There are exceptions of course but it is well known in the industry.

The thing is, many people are satisfied with any id, regardless how accurate it is.

I use google lens for suggestions sometimes, and it can give me good leads?(sometimes), but other times can be light years off, with absolutely ridiculous results. Does anyone know if Seek is all AI, or do they have people at I naturalist that give the answers for seek? I know a couple people who are credited with thousands of ID'S at I nat . One of them used to be a regular contributor at this forum. I'm thinking Google lens learns from all my internet searches and thus over time gets smarter. I asked someone who was praising a plant app, if they would still remember the plant species, if they ran into it a year later, and were without their app. I don't think much plant knowledge is retained if you rely on an app. I don't understand why a lot of people boast about their apps. You're basically stating that you let a machine do the thinking for you, so nothing about that is something I would be proud of. I respect and admire those who come up with correct ID'S from their own minds and stored knowledge. I totally agree with Ken about apps replacing human discussions, ( teaching, learning), and taking all the fun and enjoyment out of plant Identification.

FYI. There are so many Goldenrod species, Solidago, Oligoneuron, Euthamia, ect. I can't ID the vast majority of them, and there are also several endemic entities that don't key into any named species. These entities that are endemic to special unique areas, still have to be resolved, so expect to see more new species in the future. Oligoneuron rigidum is very easy to identify by its rigid leaves and large corymbs. iving in it's range also makes it more recognizable. Gardengal, I have noticed that about landscape architects.😂

If nobody tells you an ap is wrong when it's wrong, you would think it's always right.

Well Tiffany. What bugs me is when people tell others about their miracle plant apps, and they portray them as infallible. They should be more honest in stating that they aren't always accurate. Plus they are asking others to rely on machines, instead of encouraging them to learn more themselves.

I actually use a DSLR camera. I doubt anyone remembers those. It's only good for taking pictures. I can't call anyone on it :-)

That's my point, Jay. If an ap reportedly ID'd all of the plants queried, but the answers given by the ap weren't checked, the user would have no way to know if any of the IDs were wrong, or any way to know that any of the IDs were wrong.

What they don't realize is that although an ap may be infallible at providing an ID, most people who use those aps don't confirm if it is the correct ID. So if asked, that ap user would say the ap ID'd 100% of the queried plants. In their mind, they are reporting the honest results because they have had no method or cause to realize that the results given by the ap were incorrect.

Various sources have trialed many of the ID apps for accuracy and they rarely exceed a 75% accuracy rate. Often much less.

PictureThis consistently gets the best ratings, followed closely by iNaturalist, with the rest far in the distance. By comparison, it is very rare that a plant is not correctly ID'd on the the Name That Plant forum. And usually very rapidly as well.

Let's not forget that these apps all collect personal data and sell it. I prefer my little group of friends here.

Sometimes am app will be way off, or it can be exact, or it will give you the genus, but the wrong species of the genus.

I used Google lens for this plant.

The app just keyed in on the leaves, and disregarded the large, round bud at the top, and it came up with Stevia, which is ridiculous. I still need an ID on this plant. Asteraceae? Malvaceae?

This is Hypericum patulum 'Sungold'.

Google lens gave me Aaron's Beard, Hypericum calycinum, and Hypericum ererectum as results. This time it gave me the genus at least, but still not accurate.