[2] It is native to northeastern and north-central North America[3] and often forms colonies of upright growing plants, with many small yellow flowers in a branching inflorescence held above the foliage.

[4] Solidago canadensis is a herbaceous perennial plant with stems that grow 2–4 feet (60–120 centimeters) and sometimes to 6 ft (180 cm) tall.

[13] Canada goldenrod is visited by a wide variety of insects for its pollen and nectar, including bees, wasps, flies, beetles, butterflies, and moths.

[15] It can be extremely aggressive and tends to form monocultures and near-monocultures in parts of its native range, such as in southwest Ohio clay loam.

Its root system is very tough, and plants that have been pulled out of the ground prior to freezing and left exposed atop soil have survived winter temperatures down to -26 °C (-14 °F).

[6][20][21][22] In eastern and southeastern China, particularly the provinces of Zhejiang, Jiangsu, Jiangxi and Shanghai, its invasion has caused widespread concern.