Solidago odora
| Solidago odora | |
| Light: |   |
| Moisture: |   |
| Hardiness: | 3 |
| Soil pH: | 5.6-8.4 |
| Height: | 4' |
| Blooms: | Mid Summer-Late Summer |
| Native to: | |
| Shelter | |
| Edible Rating: |  |
| Medicinal Rating: |  |
| Tea: | Yes |
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Solidago odora (common name: sweet goldenrod)
Propagation: Seed - sow spring in a cold frame. Only just cover the seed and do not allow the compost to become dry. Prick out the seedlings into individual pots when they are large enough to handle, and grow them on for their first winter in pots. Plant them out into their permanent positions in spring or early summer.
Division in spring or autumn. Larger divisions can be planted out direct into their permanent positions. We have found it best to pot up the smaller divisions and grow them on in a lightly shaded position in a cold frame, planting them out once they are well established in the summer.
Cultivation: Succeeds in any moderately fertile moisture retentive soil in sun or semi-shade[1]. Tolerant of very poor sandy soils[1]. Grows well in heavy clay soils.
A rather greedy plant, it is apt to impoverish the soil[2].
The bruised leaves have a smell like a mixture of sassafras and aniseed[3].
The plant attracts various beneficial insects such as ladybirds, lacewings and hoverflies to the garden, these insects will help to control insect pests in the garden[4][5].
Range: Eastern N. America - New Hampshire to Florida, west to Texas and Oklahoma.
Habitat: Dry sterile soil or thin woodlands[6]. Woods and roadsides in Texas[7].
Edibility: Leaves - cooked[8].
Seed[8]. No more details are given but the seed is very small and fiddly to harvest[K].
An aromatic, anise-flavoured tea is made from the dried leaves and dried fully expanded flowers[9][10][11][12].
The blossoms are used as a flavouring[13].
Medicinal: An infusion of the dried powdered herb is antiseptic[14].
The leaves make a very pleasant-tasting tea that is mildly astringent, carminative, diaphoretic, diuretic, febrifuge and stimulant[9][11][15][16][17]. It is useful in the treatment of coughs and colds, dysentery and ulceration of the intestines[18][17].
The essential oil has been used as a diuretic for infants, as a local application for headaches and for the treatment of flatulence and vomiting[18].
The flowers are aperient, astringent and tonic[18]. An infusion is beneficial in the treatment of gravel, urinary obstruction and simple dropsy[18].
The root can be chewed as a treatment for sore mouths[17].
Usage: An anise-scented essential oil is obtained from the plant[19]. It is used medicinally[15] and in perfumery - especially for scenting soaps[3].
Mustard, orange and brown dyes can be obtained from the whole plant[14].
Pollinators: Insects
Soil: Can grow in light, medium, and heavy soils.
Drainage: Prefers well drained soil.
Flower Type: Hermaphrodite
Heavy Clay: Grows in heavy-clay soils.
Links
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 Huxley, Anthony. The New Royal Horticultural Society Dictionary of Gardening. MacMillan Press, 1992.
- ↑ Chittendon, Fred. RHS Dictionary of Plants. Oxford University Press, 1951.
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 Genders, Roy. Scented Flora of the World. Robert Hale, 1994.
- ↑ Allardice, Pamela. A-Z of Companion Planting. Cassell Publishers, 1993.
- ↑ Bown, Deni. Royal Horticultural Society Encyclopaedia of Herbs and Their Uses. Dorling Kindersley, 1995.
- ↑ Lyndon, Merritt. Gray's Manual of Botany. American Book Co, 1950.
- ↑ Diggs, George and Barney Lipscomb. Illustrated Flora of North Central Texas. Botanical Research Institute, 1999.
- ↑ 8.0 8.1 Kunkel, Günther. Plants for Human Consumption. Koeltz Scientific Books, 1984.
- ↑ 9.0 9.1 Lust, John. The Herb Book. Bantam Books, 1983.
- ↑ Harris, Ben. Eat the Weeds. Pivot Health, 1973.
- ↑ 11.0 11.1 Saunders, Charles. Edible and Useful Wild Plants of the United States and Canada. Dover Publications, 1976.
- ↑ Facciola, Stephen. Cornucopia - A Source Book of Edible Plants. Kampong Publications, 1990.
- ↑ Kavasch, Barrie. Native Harvests. Vintage Books, 1979.
- ↑ 14.0 14.1 Grae, Ida. Nature's Colors. MacMillan Publishing, 1974.
- ↑ 15.0 15.1 Coffey, Timothy. The History and Folklore of North American Wild Flowers. Facts on File, 1993.
- ↑ Foster, Steven and Billy Tatum. Medicinal Plants of Eastern and Central North America. Houghton Mifflin, 1990.
- ↑ 17.0 17.1 17.2 Moerman, Daniel. Native American Ethnobotany. Timber Press, 1998.
- ↑ 18.0 18.1 18.2 18.3 Grieve, Margaret. A Modern Herbal. Penguin, 1984.
- ↑ Usher, George. A Dictionary of Plants Used by Man. Constable, 1974.