Autumn Goldenrod

Autumn Goldenrod

Common name:  Autumn goldenrod, false goldenrod, short-pappus goldenrod

Scientific name:  Solidago sphacelata ‘Golden Fleece’

Family:  Aster, Daisy, or Composite; Asteraceae

Bloom period:  August through October

What to look for:  Tiny, bright golden-yellow flowers arrayed in plume-like panicles (loose branching clusters). 

Where to see it:  Along the front borders in the lower sections of Building 1 and 2 gardens.

Benefit to pollinators:  In North America, there are as many as 60 different species of Solidago.  They blend into each other, hybridize, and are notoriously difficult to classify.  In our part of North America, Solidago’s benefits to pollinators are similar across the genus. 

 Goldenrod’s numerous small flowers are filled with nectar and pollen, which draw a large range of insects, estimated at more than 100 species of larval and adult butterflies and moths, as well as bees, beetles, flies, and wasps.  Goldenrods are among the most important late-season pollinator plant.  Honey bees frequently collect large amounts of goldenrod nectar prior to winter; other bees use the pollen to provision late-season nests.  All these insects in turn attract insectivorous birds. Goldenrod’s seeds, too, attract a long list of birds, primarily the American Goldfinch, as well as juncos and sparrows.

More info:  The name Solidago come from the Latin solidus + agere, meaning “causes to solidify or bring together” the lips of wounds During the Middle Ages, the species of goldenrod indigenous    to Europe was used as a woundwort or wound remedy.  Herbalists and Native Americans and used various goldenrod species for a number of medicinal uses, both internally and externally, including as a diuretic and for inflammation of the lower urinary tract.