The Kentucky Floral Emblem: Goldenrod

"Goldenrod has a lot of haters; many people confuse it for ragweed.

I hate even to say that - because I think that makes people think they must look similar.

That's just not true."

May 16, 1926

On this day, Kentucky selected the Goldenrod as its State Flower. 

 

Previously, Kentucky's flower had been the Bluegrass, but Kentucky gardening clubs felt bluegrass wasn't representative of the whole state.

 

Incidentally, Alabama and Nebraska also picked the native goldenrod to be the State Flower.

 

Goldenrod has a lot of haters; many people confuse it for ragweed.

I hate even to say that - because I think that makes people think they must look similar.

That's just not true.

 

Once you see them individually - you can never confuse them. Ragweed’s flowers are green and not eye-catching, while goldenrods are golden and very pretty.

 

I saw an infographic a few years ago that said,

Goldenrod Warning: if I'm here, so is ragweed. Stay indoors! Achoo!

 

This would be the same as saying,

The Black-eyed-Susans are blooming. So is ragweed.

The Joe Pye Weed is blooming. So is ragweed.

 

Goldenrod flowers alongside all the late summer bloomers - echinacea, Helenium, oriental lily, asters, balloon flowers, sedums, tickseed, autumn crocus, Japanese anemones, blue mist shrub, hydrangeas, the list goes on and on.

 

The genus name Solidago is taken from the Latin "in solidum ago vulnera" and meaning to "I make wounds whole."

 

Native Americans and Herbalists recognize the curative power of Goldenrod.

Goldenrod is also an early autumn bloomer, an important food source for bees, and a fantastic cut flower.

Botanical painter Anne Ophelia Todd Dowden, who painted the goldenrod with minute detail, said of goldenrod,

"Abundant it may be, but repugnant it is not." 


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Goldenrod

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