Wednesday, July 21, 2010

Sweet Goldenrod


Okay, to start off, it is not crazy (though many of you may think so) to make a recipe from Sweet Goldenrod (Solidago odora). It is a common misconception that the cause of hay fever and many allergy problems are due to the blooming of Goldenrod. This is not true; Ragweed, the culprit, blooms at the same time as Goldenrod, yet somehow goes under the radar.

Goldenrod is commonly seen between late spring and early fall. Its bright yellow flowers make it hard to miss along roadsides and fields. A word of caution- there are many varieties of Goldenrod and you absolutely should I.D. your plant before consumption.

Sweet Goldenrod has an interesting place in American History- After the Boston Tea Party colonialists had to find alternative tea sources and became particularly found of Sweet Goldenrod Tea. There was a time that the U.S. actually exported it to China!

These teas are used as kidney and throat anti-inflammatory medicines, and digestive stimulants. Native Americans used all parts of the plant to make balms for curing cuts and burns.

Taxonomy

Kingdom: Plantae

Order: Asterales

Family: Asteraceae

Genus: Solidago

Distribution: Native to North America, but introduced to South America and Eurasia.


Quote of the Plant:

The Goldenrod

“Some day the fields of Flanders shall bloom in peace again,

Field lilies and the clover spread where once was crimson stain,

And a new, cheerful golden spray shine through the sun and rain.


The clover's for the English who sleep beneath that sod,

The lily's for the noble French whose spirits rest with God,

But where our sacred dead shall sleep must bloom the goldenrod.


For every flower of summer those meadows will have room,

And yet I think no Flemish hand will touch the Kaiserbloom,

Whose growing blue must evermore whisper of grief and doom.


But clover for the English shall blossom from the sod,

And glorious lilies for the French whose spirits rest with God.

And where our own lads lie asleep the prairie goldenrod.


Once more the Flemish children shall laugh through Flemish lanes,

And gather happy garlands through fields of bygone pains,

And, as they run and cull their flowers, sing in their simple strains:


'These clovers are for English who fought to save this sod,

These lilies for the valiant French--may their souls rest in God!

And for the brave Americans we pluck this goldenrod.'"

-W.D. Eaton

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