Goldenrod

(Solidago canadensis)

Other Names:
N/A

Range:


Family:
Asteraceae – The Aster or Daisy or Composite Family

Growth Type:
An herbaceous perennial plant

Height:
1 - 5 feet tall.

Leaves:
Multiple lance shaped, three veined, and serrated leaves

Stem/Trunk:
Single erect stem is smooth at base, but becomes hairy just below the flower branches.

Root:
Taproot/Tuber

Flower Season:
Late spring to early summer

Flower Appearance:
The yellow flowers are borne in broad triangular shaped panicle. The flowers persist well into autumn.

Seed/Fruit:
Small hard Seeds

Miscellaneous characteristics:
N/A

Habitat:
Roadsides, Clearings, Thickets

Parts Used:
Flower Heads, Leaves, Roots, Seeds

Culinary Uses:
The leaves can be eaten as a cooked vegetable. The flowers and seeds can both be eaten raw.

Energetics
Taste: Pungent
Thermal: Warming
Humidity: Drying

Traditional Medicinal Uses:
Native Americans use(d) the root for burns. Use a tea or tincture of the flowers for fevers and snake bites, sore throats. The flowers contain a compound known as Quercetin, which is useful in treating hemorrhagic nephritis. Teas and tinctures made from the leaves have a diuretic effect. In Germany, leaf extracts are approved as a diuretic in the treatment of inflammatory diseases of the lower urinary tract. Also used in irrigation therapy to both prevent and treat urinary and kidney gravel. Caution: said to cause allergic reactions, but this has been shown to be a reaction to ragweed pollen, as the pollen of goldenrod is too heavy to be dispersed through the air. I mix a 1:1:1 formulary of Goldenrod, Oxeye Daisy, and Stinging Nettle, tinctures as means of treating seasonal allergies. When started a couple of weeks prior to allergy season, I have had very good results staving off the effects of wet seasonal allergies.

Medicinal Actions:
Astringent, Diuretic, Lithotriptic