Goldenrod Extract

I once used to tramp all over the land in the fall gathering useful plants until too many eyes glanced askance at my efforts in roadside ditches and seemingly abandoned wastelands and my body decided that it had done quite enough of that sort of thing. Throughout the years, I have not only harvested various useful herbs but also returned with roots and seeds. I have yarrow that I started from roots I found twenty years ago in Cumberland county TN. My most recent and last efforts of bringing some good things home included planting anise scented goldenrod roots and seeds that I had gathered. This year, one of my plantings made it! I had to vociferously defend this little patch all season long to see and harvest these flowers! Of course I left some to be pollinated and in turn go to seed. One should never be greedy and take all.  I'll be having some tea later, after I have put some flowers into alcohol for an extract to tide us over this winter. This herb makes a really nice alcohol extract. Mine usually retains that delicious anise scent, and a teeny bit goes a long way. It has been said that this herb is good for sore throats, allergies and kidney/bladder complaints. I do find myself amenable to taking it when I suspect a sniffle may progress to something nastier or perhaps have an allergic component. I do not claim that this has any effect on the retreat of the sniffle, etc, but I find the tastes of my goldenrod concoctions to be quite pleasant and absent any ill effects. One year, I gave some to one of my more adventurous friends, and she said that it helped her mother's bladder complaint. She said that her mother has never had a recurrence after the goldenrod extract, but prior to taking the extract, she had been plagued by recurring problems. One of my daughters has likewise used it for a similar complaint and she prefers the goldenrod extract to cranberry juice. Once again, I am not saying that this plant actually does anything to the body or combats disease because there have been no formal and conclusive tests done here. I'm merely relating what those close to me have experienced at the time of ingestion and that the events could very well be purely coincidental.  I prefer to stress the pleasant taste and possible placebo effect of increased well being. I like to make my extract with the fresh unblemished flowering portions of the plant, and to extract with 95% ethanol for greater strength of extraction and longer shelf life. I never use plants that have signs of blight or disease. This may seem like a recipe for seriously nasty and one should definitely not drink any 95% ethanol plant extraction straight or in large quantities. I like a few drops in my tea after the goldenrod season has passed and winter is biting. It carries a taste of fall sunlight into the days quick to darken. 

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