THE FOLKLORE OF PLANTS: Goldenrod

Lisa Karen Miller

          The common plant that serves as Kentucky’s state flower was once terribly expensive in England because it was imported from the Middle East. When a walker on Hampstead Heath in London noticed it growing wild, its price dropped overnight from half a crown an ounce to half a crown a hundredweight.

Isn’t it great when the common man bursts an artificially created bubble?

          Heathen wound wort, Aaron’s rod, or knitwort had long been used as a vulnerary by the Saracens (used in Medieval Europe to describe people of Arab or Muslim descent). Vulneraries are herbs for skin lesions, wounds, and inflammation (emollients), but they also can be used for internal wounds (demulcents) such as stomach ulcers. Many astringent plants fall into this category.

          A flower tea treats urinary infections, while a leaf tea eases flatulence and vomiting. Practitioners of traditional Chinese medicine used European goldenrod in preparations for headache, flu , sore throat, malaria, and measles.

          In Britain, Solidago (“to make whole” or “to unite”) Canadensis is a lucky plant; a cluster of goldenrod once suggested nearby treasure or a hidden source of water. The entire plant is edible and can be cooked as a vegetable. Because of both its color and usefulness, some Native American tribes called it “sun medicine.”

          It is one of the many plants falsely accused of triggering allergies in sufferers; it simply has the misfortune to bloom at the same time as the real culprit: ragweed.

         Boasting over 100 species across Europe and America, this plant with tall, woody stalks and yellow flowers is a member of the daisy family. Goldenrod is one of the 12 plants suggested for a Garden of Everlastings – plants that give months of color and are perfect for drying. Its pleasant smell and anise-like flavor made it ideal for covering the unpleasant taste of other medicinal ingredients – one of the first ways we sugar-coated the pill.

          During the American Revolution, British imports were steeply taxed. Colonists used it as a substitute for their usual morning eye-opener. Liberty Tea became quite popular among those trying to escape the clutches of King George III’s tax men. Best of all, it was completely free.

          Tyrants have often underestimated the downtrodden. We just keep springing back up, like the resilient goldenrod.