flow

“Heal yourself with the light of the sun and the rays of the moon. With the sound of the river and the waterfall. With the swaying of the sea and the fluttering of birds. Heal yourself with mint, neem, and eucalyptus. Sweeten with lavender, rosemary, and chamomile. Hug yourself with the cocoa bean and a hint of cinnamon. Put love in tea instead of sugar and drink it looking at the stars. Heal yourself with the kisses that the wind gives you and the hugs of the rain. Stand strong with your bare feet on the ground and with everything that comes from it. Be smarter every day by listening to your intuition, looking at the world with your forehead. Jump, dance, sing, so that you live happier. Heal yourself, with beautiful love, and always remember ... you are the medicine. "

~Maria Sabina, Mexican healer and poet

Noted on Golden Rod

By ANA

Each fall, across North America, goldenrod lights up meadows and fields with her yellow jubilance.

In addition to the sunshine she shines on the landscape, her flowers attract native pollinators and beneficial insects.

Goldenrod is part of the daisy family.

Her piney-tasing leaves and flowers are an important medicinal remedy for the urinary, digestive, and respiratory systems.

The properties of goldenrod are similar to many other herbs: antifungal, diuretic, anti-inflammatory, expectorant, astringent, antiseptic, and carminative.

However, the actions of goldenrod to the kidneys, urinary tract, skin, allergies, and cardiovascular system are impressive.

Her astringent and antiseptic qualities tighten and tone the urinary system and bladder making it useful for UTI infections

Her flowers and leaves can be infused with oil or used as a poultice for wounds and burns. The infused oil combines well with plantain, yarrow, and St. John’s wort for a nice wound healing skin salve. It also makes a nice rub for tired achey muscles and arthritis pain.

Goldenrod is a nice antidote for seasonal ragweed allergies. Her astringent property calms runny eyes, runny nose, and sneezing that comes with late summer and early fall allergies. People have had a lot of success using the tincture for allergies.

Her antiseptic and antimicrobial properties make her a good choice for sore throats.  As an expectorant, goldenrod can expel mucous easily from the lungs. Try her infused with honey or as a tea with honey added.

Also, the diaphoretic property of goldenrod helps to open pores of the skin to release sweat during a fever.

To identify goldenrod, crush her leaf when she’s in bloom to familiarize yourself with her aroma. There may be multiple species growing in your region.  

If you do want to harvest her, get to know get to know her nuances by tasting and smelling her leaves, but only after you’ve properly identified the plant to be goldenrod!

Some varieties are more bitter, others more astringent, and some specialize in resinous flavors.

Any goldenrod species can be used medicinally

But I want to reiterate that if you do want to harvest fresh goldenrod, make sure you have properly identified your species as a true goldenrod in the Solidago genus!

(See photos for some distinction)

This is crucial as there are yellow-flowered aster family members that are toxic, including ragwort

If you don’t want to take the chances, you can drink goldenrod tea, take her in tincture, or as I mentioned earlier, make an oxymel with bulk goldenrod that you’ve purchased- add a pinky sized piece of ginger and turmeric, grated into the mixture.

As a reminder, I spoke about oxymels last week.

BEWARE of golden rod look alikes!