Thars gold in them thar hills (and in the flatlands too)!
The rustling of dried corn stalks, stacks of pumpkins at the roadside stand, Halloween costumes at your local general store… all are signs that Fall is lurking, but none of these announces Autumn as loudly as goldenrod, the plant that, like a restless toddler, seems to think that its playtime when most other plants are winding-down before their winter slumber. For beekeepers, the splashes of yellow goldenrods along roadsides and field edges are welcome signs that the fall nectar flow is underway and that bees no longer must suffer the summer dearth. For the bees, this is crunch time, the last major push to prepare for winter and overcome the thievery of humans
Although goldenrods are generally acclaimed as both nectar producers and medicinal plants, they are often poorly understood, even among the scientific community. Goldenrods are members of the genus Solidago, which includes more than 100 species native to North America. The exact number of species is unknown because botanists have difficulty developing a consensus. Some species exhibit extreme polyploidy, meaning that they have many more than just two copies of each chromosome, which results in highly variable traits. Modern molecular tools are showing that our understanding of goldenrods is weak at best. That being said, the primary point is that goldenrod is not just one plant but rather a collection of many species of plants with highly variable traits. Some, like Tall Goldenrod (Solidago altissima, the SC state wildflower), grow up to 6 feet tall, while others, like Bluestem Goldenrod (S. caesia) grow to only 2 feet. Some species like wet sites, while others prefer dry, well-drained soils. A few species
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