The iconic golden fields that appear across Stowe and the Green Mountains of Vermont come August and September are one of the more beautiful sites around if you ask me. Although goldenrod is not a very choice edible, it is drinkable as a uniquely flavored tea. Collect the flowers when they first start to bloom in August and pour hot water over the fresh or dry flowers. This tea not only tastes delicious, but also has soothing properties for sore throats. Traditional Native American’s would actually chew on fresh goldenrod flowers to relieve sore throat pain.
Try out this easy Golden Tea recipe.
Fun Fact: Goldenrod is in noway responsible for hay-fever even though it is often blamed. The flower pollinated by insects, and not by wind – so please, stop blaming it for your sneezes!
Genus: Solidago
species: There are over a dozen different species just in Vermont!
Description: Most often found in large stands as it spreads by underground rhizomes. The plant grows from 2-6 feet tall and has an unbranching main stalk. The leaves are alternate and lance shaped. The flowers are a golden-yellow, and grow in loose arrangements of clustered flowers at the ends of their long stalks.
