Medicinal Monday... Tall Goldenrod - Don't Confuse It with Ragweed!

In general, Goldenrods get a bad rap. They are not allergens, that's ragweed! Best of all, they add to the colors of fall foliage and, better yet, attract important pollinators including migrating Monarchs. Several species of goldenrod grow in the United States and Solidago altissima L. or Tall Goldenrod is one of them. This plant is in the Aster or Sunflower family and can be found throughout New England. It is similar to Giant Goldenrod and Canada Goldenrod and, in fact, so similar that all of them often share common names. 

About Tall Goldenrod

This plant is among the tallest of the goldenrod plants as its name implies. It loves the sun and can be found in open fields, meadows, prairies, grasslands, old fields, along roadsides, railroad tracks, and at the edge of open forests. The flowers grow in a pyramidal cluster at the top of the plant in yellow clusters or individually. Each plume-like head has five ray flowers and numerous disc flowers; both are yellow.  Tall Goldenrod flowers from August through November depending on the part of the country it is growing in. The stalks are sturdy and very hairy.  The minutely toothed hairy leaves alternate and are broadest in the middle tapering to a sharp point at their tip. The fruit is a dry seed or achene with a tuft of white hair or pappus attached to the tip of the seed which helps it be carried off by the wind. The root system is fibrous and it spreads by creeping rhizomes that cause Tall Goldenrod to grow in clusters that most often form dense colonies.

Medicinal Uses

The most common use for Tall Goldenrod was to make a compound of the flowers and apply them to burns, this was a documented use of the Chippewa. Another use was to make a poultice of moistened dry flowers or roots and apply them to ulcers, skin problems, and boils.

Did You Know...

Sometimes, due to stem boring insects, this plant forms galls (abnormal growths) mid-stem.

Tall Goldenrod was once designated to the Compositae Family because its flowers are a composite of many flowers.

Tall Goldenrod has been introduced to Europe and Asia where it is considered a dangerous weed.

Bees, wasps, butterflies, and beetles, especially soldier beetles, are attracted to the flowers.

Solidago altissima L. is the state wildflower flower of  South Carolina.

Tall Goldenrod is deer resistant.