Goldenrod

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Peanut

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Goldenrod aka Solidago, it is one of the ancient wound warts. It’s fantastic for major injuries/burns/illnesses (battle wounds). Pretty good on lesser injuries/illnesses also. It works by stimulating the kidneys. We’ve all seen folks in the hospital with really dark blood in their urine bag. This usually means the kidneys are overloaded. Enter… Goldenrod. Stimulating the kidneys speeds healing in other parts of the body.

It’s mainly used as a kidney medicine in modern herbalism. The dried leaves and root are used topically on wounds and burns. It also contains volatile oils making it good for respiratory issues, especially slow to heal bronchial infections.

The Saracens taught the Crusaders about goldenrod who brought it home with them. There was a brief time in England when dried goldenrod leaves were literally worth their weight in gold. Then someone discovered goldenrod growing wild in Suffolk, actually quite common. (I'm pretty sure some rich guy in London lost his backside when that happened)

Here in the states there are 40-60 different species, depending on who you talk to. Though other species are also used the one most commonly used in medicine is Solidago canadensis, Canadian Goldenrod. It grows in all 50 states and canada.

There is one little trick to finding canadian goldenrod. It has a symbiotic relationship with a little bug. It makes a little home in the stem of the plants. You’ll see small gauls in the stems of the plant where the little bug lives. The root of the plant is also used so identifying a patch of dead stems is wise. You might need it in the middle of winter.

I identify patches of canadian goldenrod growing wild and harvest from those. I make “Simplers” tincture. Goldenrod is one of those irritating and uncooperative plants when trying to make a standard 1:2 volume tincture. Like today, I put 135 grams of goldenrod in the jar which calls for 270 grams of menstrum (alcohol/water mix). I pour in the 270grams and the blooms absorb all of the menstrum. This means I have to keep adding liquid until the plant material is covered… it’s no longer at the ratio of 1:2, plant to liquid by weight. So it ends up being a Simplers tincture but I still try to keep it as close to the ratio as possible.

Pics, todays batch, a little more than a quart. All the photos are of canadian goldenrod.

Goldenrod a  (5).jpg
Goldenrod a  (5)a.JPG
Goldenrod a  (5)b.jpg
Goldenrod b  (5) a.jpg
Goldenrod b  (7).jpg
Goldenrod b  (11).jpg
 
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Are other varieties of goldenrod useful too? If I were to pick another variety, would it have at least some usefulness? I’m thinking today might be a day to go pick some. There’s plenty of it!
and, thank you for sharing!
 
The blooms are processed as they are in the photos.

I'm not processing leaves or root in the photo, When I do, I dry then vacuum seal them.

Separate subject... as a general rule plants can be tinctured dry or fresh.
 
Years ago I had a horrible case of bronchitis, dang near coughed my lungs out, Goldenseal knocked it out once I got wise to use it. It was during deer and elk season and some of them came out of the woods to see what was making all the noise, no bucks or bulls though.
 

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