kentucky Wild Weeds: Ginseng

This installment is number one in a new series kindly written by our own GloryBeHerbals Jackie Alberti who was this weeks Feature Friday Interview!

Look for more articles coming weekly on Kentucky Wild weeds! THANKS JACKIE!!!!


Kentucky Wild Weeds

Panax quinquefolius, commonly known as American Ginseng is our most valuable native medicinal plant. The root has been a really lucrative product for people in our state and others, and over-harvesting has put the American ginseng on the endangered list. The state of Kentucky has very strict regulations on how to harvest and market dried ginseng root (unless it is grown on your land) so if you run across it in the woods you shouldn’t dig it up. As you can see from the picture it is quite easy to grow yourself! There are many reputable sources on the internet for buying bare roots if you’re interested in growing your own. If you have land with a wooded area, that would be an ideal place to grow it. It prefers partial shade leaf litter for compost. I have my ginseng in an area that gets only a couple of hours of direct sunlight a day and I mulch it with living mulch. It’s very happy and is getting noticeably bigger every year.

Ginseng is an adaptogen, which means that long term use helps the body adapt to stress, builds endurance and strengthens immunity. There are many species of panax ginseng (Korean, Chinese, etc.). Unlike the asian ginsengs, American ginseng has a more cooling effect.

American ginseng is the preferred species so wild stands are becoming strained from the demand.

I hope all my fellow Kentuckians will choose to raise this plant in their gardens. It will help to save one of our most valuable natural resources.

Kentucky Wild Weeds: Storing Roots

Today we have another installment of Kentucky Wild Weeds, written by team member Jackie Alberti of Glorybeherbals.

Harvesting and Storing Roots

Fall is the time to harvest roots to store for future use. Roots will store much longer than leaves and flowers and will remain “fresh” for years if handled properly.

The first thing you should do is to do your homework about the particular plant you are harvesting. Some plants have to be a certain age or they won’t be useful-this would be tragic all the way around if you kill an innocent plant and waste your time. Also, some plants like American ginseng may be illegal for you to harvest without a permit from the state. Here are some useful guidelines-Coneflowers (Echinacea) should be 4 years old; Ginseng 4 -7 years old; Goldenseal 3-5 years old. I strongly recommend raising your own endangered plants so that wild stands aren’t depleted!

After you have dug up your roots you want to wash them really well then cut them into small pieces that will be easier to work with later. Then comes the hard part-lay them out in a dry dark place to thoroughly dry. This will probably take months but it’s well worth the wait since you will have years worth of medicine on hand. Check them periodically to make sure they aren’t developing any mold and they are drying out.

After they are dried you can store them in plain brown paper bags away from heat and light.

Companionplants.com has lots of bare roots for sale if you are interested in raising endangered plants on your land. They are located in Ohio so shipping is fast to anywhere in Kentucky and I have always received beautiful stuff from them. If anyone knows of a Kentucky source let me know!

Kentucky Wild Weeds: Black Walnut

This week in Kentucky Wild Weeds, Jackie Alberti tells us about the medicinal use of black walnut.

This tree is quite abundant in Central Kentucky and is a very important medicinal plant. The nuts are delicious and nutritious, of course. Black walnut hulls are green when fresh and black after they are dried. The hulls are one of the most potent antifungal substances available to herbalists. I wouldn’t formulate an antifungal without it. The leaves can also be used for skin conditions that involve weeping and oozing, including athlete’s foot.

An extract of the green hulls is used internally to treat parasites.

The dried walnut hulls can also be used to make a dye. A simple infusion of the dried hulls can be used as a rinse to darken the hair.

Now is an ideal time to gather the nuts. They are nice and big and starting to fall off the trees. If you have an area with black walnut trees you can try searching the ground for freshly fallen nuts. When you get them home you break them open with a hammer to remove the meat and then dry the hulls in a shady area or break the green hulls into smaller pieces and extract with alcohol.

If you have any questions click here for my store and start a conversation with me.

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Thanks to Jackie Alberti for featuring a native Ky plant for us each week!

Kentucky Wild Weeds: Coneflower

Today's feature on Ky Wild Weeds focuses on Coneflower.

You make recognize the scientific name - Echinacea. There are about a dozen species of echinaceas that are used medicinally. The most common Echinacea purperea occurs in our area. They are also widely used in landscaping.

All parts of the coneflower plant is medicinally active. I often use the flowers, stems, seeds, and leaves to prepare medicine in the summer. Autumn is the time to dig up the roots-the strongest part. The plant should be at least 4 years old before the roots are harvested (and you’ll have a lot of roots).

Echinacea stimulates the bodies natural immunity to help fight off infection. I also give this to my dog when she is sick. Echinacea should only be used when it’s needed. It won’t prevent infection and if you take it every day then it won’t help when you are sick. Some herbalists say it shouldn't be taken for more than five days at a time, but I think it works best when it is taken until the infection is gone.

Dosing is different with this herb than others. I dose every 2 hours when I start to feel sick until I start to feel a little better than I back the dosages down until I’m taking it 3 or 4 times a day. An herbal extract is my preferred method for taking this medicine. I really don’t like capsules full of powdered herbs. To calculate dosages of Echinacea, use 1 drop of extract for every 2 pounds of body weight. This works for kids and pets too.

Thanks Jackie for another interesting installment of Ky Wild Weeds. To see Jackie's herbal products, check out her GloryBeHerbals etsy shop.

Kentucky Wild Weeds: Dandelion

Kentucky Wild Weeds

Dandelion

The name dandelion comes from the French name “dent de lion” which means lions tooth. This comes from the jagged shape of the leaves. Mankind has been trying to eradicate this plant since the lawn was invented. Thankfully, this will never happen. The dandelion is very smart. It seeds are fun for kids to blow in the wind.

Every part of this plant is medicinal. The bitter root is a famous liver tonic. It can be dried, ground and roasted for use as a coffee substitute just like chicory root. Root teas increase the flow of bile from liver which helps the human body to break down fats more efficiently and detoxifies the liver.

The milky sap from the stem can be applied directly to warts and skin tags to help dissolve them.

The leaves (greens) can be steamed and eaten as a vegetable. They are natures perfect diuretic. They flush out excess fluids from the body and replace potassium.

The flowers have analgesic (pain relieving) properties. The petals should be removed from the green parts. They can be infused in water that has been boiled to make a soothing tea. Or you can infuse them in oil to make a massage oil for sore muscles. This oil is also a great massage oil for breaking up lumpy breast tissue and it’s safe to use every day. I love this oil-it looks like bottled sunshine.

Don’t spray dangerous chemicals on your dandelions to try to kill them. Dig them up and use them-it’s free medicine!



Thanks so much to our own Jackie Alberti ( GloryBeHerbals ) for the fun and educational article!

Kentucky Wild Weeds: Poke

This week, Kentucky Wild Weeds focuses on a plant called "poke."

I am sure all Kentuckians recognize this plant, it’s everywhere in Lexington. Birds love to eat the berries and they end up “depositing” the seeds everywhere they go. You’ll see little poke plants sticking out of cracks in the sidewalk and on roadsides they’ll grow up to 7 feet or better.

Some people like to eat the young Spring greens (my sister freezes some every year), and some eat a berry a year to prevent arthritis. The most active part is the root. Poke is a VERY powerful lymphatic cleanser and can really help clear infections out of your system. You can easily make a batch of root extract in the Fall that will probably last a lifetime. A dose is one drop of extract in a little water. I have seen one or two doses completely clear up swollen glands in a day. To prepare an extract, the root should be gathered in the fall after the foliage starts to die down. Wear gloves when handling this plant because it is toxic. Clean and chop a fresh root, fill a jar halfway then fill the jar all the way with 100 proof vodka. After a month you can strain out the plant material and store your extract in a brown or blue glass bottle.

You can also use the root to make an infused herbal oil to massage over swollen glands and to break up breast lumps. This remedy is too harsh to use every day so it’s not good to use as a preventative.

If you have any questions about using this plant click here for my store and start a conversation with me.

Thanks to Jackie Alberti for featuring a native Ky plant for us each week!

Kentucky Wild Weeds: Peppermint

We have another installment of our Kentucky Wild Weeds series from Jackie Alberti of Glorybeherbals. Today Jackie will discuss peppermint.

If you aren’t familiar with peppermint you must be from another planet! Peppermint is used extensively to flavor commercial products including candy, toothpaste, mouthwash, etc. It is also one of the most useful herbs you’ll ever use. Peppermint is cooling and warming-and it seems to know if your body needs warming or cooling. It stimulates appetite, circulation, mental function and relieves muscle spasms. The menthol content also makes it useful to open breathing passages when you’re suffering from allergies or colds.

To make a medicinal tea with peppermint you can boil some water, chop a teaspoon or two of fresh leaves, take your water off the heat and let the peppermint leaves steep in the water (covered) for 20 minutes. This tea can be sipped to relieve indigestion (and IBS) or added to bath water or a footbath to cool you down and relieve fatigue and pain. One of my favorite baths is rosemary and peppermint. I take this bath after I have spent the morning toiling in the garden but still have a full days work ahead of me. It takes care of my muscle aches and keeps me going for the rest of the day.

If you like to carry a water bottle in the summer, try dropping a sprig of fresh peppermint into the bottle. It really cools you down on a hot summer’s day.

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To learn more about medicinal uses of plants and herbs, feel free to contact Jackie through her Glory Be Herbals etsy shop.

Kentucky Wild Weeds: Red Clover

Many thanks to our wonderful Jackie Alberti (Glorybeherbals) for submitting her awesome articles on Kentucky Wild Weeds! To see her Feature Friday Interview Click Here
ENJOY!

Red Clover

This is another one of those miraculous little plants that are everywhere. Farmers often plant Red Clover as a cover crop to replenish soil nutrients. Herbalists use it treat menopausal symptoms, rashes, psoriasis, eczema and cancer.

Red Clover makes a delicious tea which tastes just like black tea. Scientists are investigating this plant because of the phytoestrogen content which can give menopausal women a natural estrogen boost to alleviate hot flashes and other uncomfortable symptoms.

Infuse the flowers in oil and you have a safe and gentle massage oil that can be used daily to break up fibrotic breast tissue and possibly prevent breast cancer. Even if it doesn’t prevent breast cancer it will certainly make it easier to detect in the early stages. Fibrocystic breast disease makes it much harder to detect small lumps, even with a mammogram. So next time you see this pretty little flower you can see the real beauty in it.

Kentucky Wild Weeds: Plantain

Today Jackie Alberti of Glorybeherbals discusses another "Kentucky Wild Weed" - this one is called Plantain.

This is another one of those very useful yard “weeds”. Plantain is EVERYWHERE - be glad because it can really come in handy if you need to treat a wound quickly. Plantain is cooling and soothing and can be used on insect bites and stings, nettle stings, cuts, scrapes, burns, and irritation. Most herbalists suggest plucking fresh leaves and chewing them a little before applying them to a wound. Personally, I am not crazy about the idea of putting anything from the ground into my mouth without washing it first. I like to roll fresh leaves between the palms of my hands until it feels wet. Thus releases the cooling mucilage-then it can be rubbed or laid over the affected area.

The seeds are used as a bulk forming laxative called psyllium.



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If you have any questions about Jackie's articles or want to know more about native Kentucky plants, please contact Jackie at her Glory Be Herbals blog.

Kentucky Wild Weeds: St. John's Wort

This week's installment of Kentucky wild weeks focuses on St. John’s Wort. Thanks to fellow team member, Jackie Alberti for writing these articles each week. Check out Jackie's GloryBeHerbals shop to see some of her wonderful oils and herbal products.

This plant may be hard to find. I haven’t found any growing wild in my area but it is supposed to be found in Kentucky. I’d love to hear from anyone who finds some. If you are interested in this plant, I recommend growing your own because the active chemical evaporates very quickly and the dried plant material is not very useful.

St. John’s Wort is used primarily for mild depression and to heal nerves, inflammation and wounds. Clinical studies have proven it to be effective for mild to moderate depression. It is also useful when there is any kind of nerve damage, however internal use can cause sensitivity to sunlight.

I also like to make an infused oil out of this. It is unbelievable on sore muscles and actually is a mild sunscreen. The oil can be used for sore or inflamed muscles, and as a wound healer (especially if a nerve has been damaged), and to soothe burns and rashes.

You can contact me through my Glorybeherbals store if you’d like to learn more about how to prepare any of these remedies.

Feature Friday: Jackie Alberti - GloryBeHerbals

Today on Feature Friday, we focus on Jackie Alberti of GloryBeHerbals. If you have been following the blog you will recognize Jackie's name from the Kentucky Wild Weeds articles that she writes for us. Now we learn a little more about Jackie and her love of plants, flowers and herbs.

How did you first hear about etsy?

I first heard about etsy from another student in my herbal program.

Tell us about a little about yourself and your favorite craft/art!

My favorite is aromatherapy but I also love herbs. I also knit and crochet when the urge strikes me but that's usually for family gifts.


How did you get started as a designer?

I have always been interested in herbs. I seriously studied herbs and essential oils a few years ago because I was getting really concerned about how many chemicals my family is exposed to. I really believe that plants are God's gift to us and they can sometimes work in ways that pharmaceuticals can't. After I was using herbs and essential oils for a few months I realized how much better my stress levels were and I was off all my prescription meds, plus I wasn't having any of the nasty side effects. How great is that!


What inspires you to create?

Sometimes it seems to come out of nowhere. Definitely a new herb or essential oil will inspire creativity. Sometimes I am trying to find a new protocol for a specific condition and I will be drawn to a certain plant or oil.


How long have you been a member of Bluegrass etsy and how did you hear about the team?

I have been on the team for about a year and a half now. I was invited to join not long after I signed up on etsy and I'm really glad I joined. We have really nice people and it's great to have a group supporting each other. BEST is a great team and I hope more members will be inspired to participate more. We have some members that are working SO HARD for the benefit of the whole team! If we could get half the team this passionate we probably could take over the world-or at least the state.


Any advice you would give to aspiring designers?

I think being an active member of a street team really helps with networking and morale. I also say keep on doing what makes you happy and listen to your customers.


Anything else you would like to add?

Actually I have a new store for perfumery where I am using mainly fragrance oils plus some natural perfumes. It's at JASaromatics if anyone would like to check it out. I also love to do custom work for customers-it challenges me in a great way.

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Thanks Jackie for the interview. In addition to Jackie's JASaromatics shop, you may also want to check out her Glorybeherbals etsy shop!

To see more of the talented arts and crafts from Kentucky Handmade, go to etsy.com and type in teambluegrass in the search box.

Kentucky Wild Weeds: Goldenseal

This is another of our more valuable native plants. Early colonists took a quick liking to this plant and exported enormous amounts of goldenseal roots to Europe. World-wide demand for this plant remains high to this day and it has become threatened in the wild. As you can see, it is easy to raise with requirements similar to ginseng (shade and compost).

Goldenseal is an immune stimulant, antibacterial, anti-fungal, and relieves excess mucous and infections very quickly. It is great paired with Echinacea to fight colds and flu. It will irritate mucous membranes if overused so once you start to dry up you should back off on dosages. The belief that goldenseal will mask drug use on a drug test is false. This belief has lead to abuse of this plant and tons of valuable medicine has been wasted. Goldenseal should be used only when it’s really needed and just so you know, it tastes exactly like it smells!

Thanks so much to our own Jackie Alberti ( GloryBeHerbals ) for the fun and educational article!

Team Meeting In Bernheim Forest Fall 2009

Our team meeting at beautiful Bernheim Forest was a blast! We went over quite a few topics during our meeting thanks to the impeccable organization skills of Kim Ries, who made an agenda of topics that need attention from the team.

First thing was handing out a team roster, this is invaluable to all of us since we want to encourage shopping within the team, and its nice to be able to have an easy way to contact other members for networking. The team roster is available for download if any member would like it please contact me or Kim and we can send you the file.

We talked about our ad coming in the October-December issue of Arts Across Kentucky. Kim passed around the printed out ad to show how it will look in the magazine. Many many thanks to our resident graphic designer Brandy of WickedSisterDesigns for designing this ad for us, it will make each of us so proud to see it in print!

We talked about our monthly giveaway, and have taken sign ups into next year for this. We will be having 2 giveaways in October so get ready!!

We talked about the samples box that our wonderful Jackie Alberti (Of Kentucky WIld weeds fame) of Glorybeherbals will be accepting donations of samples for the box which will be sold in our team shop to raise funds for the team treasury. Anyone wanting to send a donation for her box can contact Jackie.

We also talked about membership issues...this has been a hot topic all year since we do have a large portion of the team that is not active in any way. We will be taking action in the next few days to hopefully thin out the team a bit and get us into one smaller and more organized and active group that can have each member promoting the team and their fellow team mates on various social networks to help us all gain more overall sales and boost ALL of our shops popularity.

We all had a wonderful lunch served by Isaacs Cafe, All the food was large portions and in my opinion very much worth the money spent. The vegetables were very tasty and very fresh. Everything we got looked so delicious I wished I had more than one stomach! I would definitely go back there with my family just to hang out and eat! Thanks so much to Carolyn of CowgirlRosie fame for running our lunch orders over there, and many many thanks to the staff at Isaacs for preparing such a wonderful delicious and nutritious lunch for our team! We needed the extra vitamins after all that talking and trading we did!

We got to hear some wonderful stories from our members. One such story was the story of Angus McEwan. He is the handsome ram/sheep that is pictured to the right and at the top. He apparently was a very naughty boy and got his twitter account deleted....now he spends his time blogging about the Whimsybeading husband and wife team of Kelly and Joey Graves. Thanks guys for bringing Angus - he made my day! I hope he didn't cause any trouble on the way home.


We got to meet with two of our newest members of a sewing team called SewFriendzy. They create gorgeous dog leashes, beds and other pet wares. Leighann brought a beautifully made halloween bag with a kitty applique on it to the meeting...I left with it! My daughter adores kitties and I had to have it for her! Her work is VERY professional and this is coming from a long time seamstress. I highly recommend checking them out if you're in the market for an item for your pet.If you are a jewelry lover, one member does jewelry! Her shop HumanKindness is full of treasures to behold! Many warm welcomes to our newest members of the team! Its a pleasure to have you all!

In summary it was an awesome day and we get to get together again very soon as we will be having a Christmas get together at Brendans on Shelbyville Road in Louisville on Dec 12th. Thanks so much to Joey Graves for setting this up for us I cant wait to try that Veggie Quesadilla Kelly mentioned! This venue serves alcohol so bring your designated driver and goods to swap! I am so looking forward to getting together once again with the team for good times, lots of laughs and trading!


Team photo from left to right:
Libby Goldsmith ( Mayleesgarden )
Kelly Graves (Whimsybeading)
Carolyn Campbell (Cowgirlrosie)
Joseph Graves (Whimsybeading) Angela Latham (Spoolofplenty)
Paulena ( Paulena )
And our wonderous meeting organizer who deserves more than a thousand thank yous for all her hard work for the team, Kim Ries (Creativeeyestudio)

Not pictured but who came to the meeting (we were having so much fun we forgot about pictures till it was time to go!)
Toni of Vernon Ave (Who by the way is having an article about her in the new issue of Haute Handbags! GO TONI!)
Leighann and Sherry from SewFriendzy
Tina Mackin from SmackinArt
And Asha from MisfitDreamers

Thanks so much to all who were able to come out, and next big meeting hopefully will be in the spring in Lexington!

Kentucky Wild Weeds: Mullein

Here is another installment in our weekly feature on plants in Kentucky and their medicinal uses. Thanks to Jackie Alberti for writing these each week!


Mullein is found all over the place and is another great medicinal. This plant can be as much as 6 feet tall - the stalks used to be dried, dipped in wax and used as torches. The most useful parts are the leaves and flowers. The leaves are expectorant and are used in teas and smoking mixtures to treat asthma and colds. The flowers can be infused in olive oil to make an oil to sooth irritated skin and especially to treat ear infections. To make the oil, gather a small handful and place in a jar, cover with oil and let it sit for two weeks. Then strain out the flowers and store the oil in the fridge. I also like to infuse some garlic cloves and add a little St. John’s Wort infused oil. There is also an essential oil available but I have not tried it yet.

Mullein will take root in any clear space, loves poor soil and the seeds are believed to remain dormant for up to 100 years!

You can comment here or contact me through my etsy store if you would like more information on any of my articles or anything else.

Black Friday Cyber Monday promotions on Etsy

Teambluegrass is on top of the Black Friday fun! Here are a list of Kentucky handmade shops and the promotions they are having for Black Friday and Cyber Monday! You can click here to shop the whole teams listings or enter "teambluegrass" in the search bar on Etsy.com to find everything made by us!

LeslieN is having a sale and FREE SHIPPING in her jewelry shop for Black Friday All prices will be marked down by 10% just in time for morning Black Friday shoppers! She has a gorgeous selection of natural gemstone jewelry.



Glorybeherbals is having free shipping in her shop of all natural herbal products. Glorybeherbals is also known as Jackie who has been doing our Kentucky Wild Weeds Series here on the blog! She really knows her stuff!




BlessedBe is having Free Shipping all the way till Christmas! She has BEAUTIFUL Christian themed jewelry. Perfect for the Christian in your life!



WhimsyBeading is having 15% off everything from Friday till Monday and also Free Shipping! They specialize in PLUS sizes and make gorgeous elegantly crafted Beadwoven works of art with a steampunk/gothic/victorian feel.




WanderingWhimsies is having 10% off ALL orders and 15% off all order over $40.00 Free shipping to US and Canada! Wandering Whimsies has a fine selection of handmade primitives, Raggedies and other beautiful things, check her out!




DoMosaics is having 10% off all 5x7 Mosaic Frames and Mirrors till Dec 15th. They have a gorgeous selection of handmade mosaic frames, trivets, mirrors, and more!


PurpleGypsyStudio is having 10% off and free shipping 11-27 thru 11-30. This shop has gorgeous hand fired pottery. What a great gift!


LaDonna Eastman is having a sale in both of her shops Ladonnaedesigns And ClosetVintage She is having free shipping and 20% off in both shops Black Friday thru Cyber Monday!



SewFriendzy is having 10% off thru Paypal refund Black Friday thru Cyber Monday. They are our newest members who make lovely Pet beds, bags, totes and more!


AimeePlus3 is having 10% off in her shop via Paypal refund. She has an amazing assortment of pet beds, collars, leashes and other pet goodies!


Creativeeyestudio is having Free shipping to US and Canada Balck friday thru Cyber Monday!
She has handmade cards as well as gorgeous handmade Jewelry. All her earwires are Sterling Silver and she has a large selection to choose from.



SmackinArt is having a special "Let's Make a Deal!" Buy one item from textiles and get 1/2 off (the one of the lesser value). Buy one ACEO and get one FREE. Buy one print and get 1/2 off another one.



Lunabudknits is having 10% off ALL merchandise Nov 27th thru Nov 30th. This means EVERYTHING...Wheels, roving, carders, fiber, ALLLL of her stuff. She even has some hemp top!! Everything for your spinning needs can be found here. 10% off via refund thru paypal after purchase.


BellaSmiles is having Free shipping till monday and a 7$ vintage necklace sale!


Sarabeedesigns is having free shipping in the US and half price shipping internationally. Sarabee has gorgeous drop spindles, hand painted roving, polymer clay Poke me nots for your knitting needles, gorgeous hand dyed yarn etc....


I will update this post as I hear of more team members having sales, if you are on the team and have a sale I have not mentioned here please add it to our forum thread here and I will update this post accordingly.

Have a great weekend everyone!

Kentucky Wild Weeds-Bloodroot

My flower feel apart from the cold weather so I borrowed a picture from the internet.  I wanted to talk about bloodroot because it's one of the earliest blooming plants and much of the supply of this herb comes from eastern Kentucky.  It's unusual because the flower appears before the leaf.  It likes moist rich soil and grows easily in areas like the Daniel Boone National Forest where there is rich leaf litter to nourish it.

Bloodroot is a low dose medicinal and is used as an expectorant in cold formulas.  It's caustic to the skin and can actually kill skin cells.  This makes it useful in treating skin cancer and is a common ingredient in black salves.  Fresh root juice, which is blood red, can be applied directly to skin tags and warts.  I have even had luck applying the extract to a freshly forming skin tag. The skin tag dried up and fell off in a few hours.  Bloodroot extract is also included in some commercial toothpastes because it prevents tartar from forming on the teeth.

Happy Spring!

Kentucky Wildweeds-Goldenrod

Kentucky Wild Weeds

I’m back!!!!  In this issue I’ll be discussing our state flower-Goldenrod.  The genus name solidago comes from the latin word solide which means “to make whole”.  After the Boston Tea Party the colonists drank goldenrod tea and called it Liberty Tea.

Goldenrod tea is used as an antiseptic treatment for urinary tract infections, a gargle for sore throats or just a relaxing cup of tea.  The flowers can also be infused into an oil or ointment to disinfect and treat skin infections, and to relieve pain.

Some people blame this beautiful plant for their late Summer allergies but the real culprit is ragweed, which blooms at the same time.  The flowers of ragweed are not easily seen so our poor Goldenrod gets the blame.  It is possible to be allergic if you have allergies to any plant in the daisy family, but allergic reactions would result from direct contact with the plant, not airborne pollen.

Goldenrods are now in bloom so it’s time to gather flowers!