Goldenrod (Solidago)

Late summer is the time for Goldenrod to come into bloom, and it may continue blooming until the first  frost of autumn.  This perennial of the family Asteraceae can be found all over North America growing along roadsides, in ditches and in fields.  It is the state flower for both Kentucky and Nebraska, although whether it is a actually a flower or a weed is in dispute.  Goldenrod will attempt to dominate and eventually take over the garden, if planted there.

More than 100 distinct species of Goldenrod have been identified, and distinguishing between them can be a challenge.  The plants that I harvested were found growing along the edges of a logging road.  They stood about 3 feet high, with tall, slender, rod-like stems which branched out near the top, each branch lined with small pod-like, golden-yellow flowers.

I snipped the tops of the plants just below where they began to branch out, and put the flowers in the dye pot.  The remaining stems with leaves, I set aside to make green tea later.  There is more about that at the end of this post.

Goldenrod September 2012

The dye pot was filled with water and brought to a simmer.  After 1-2 hours simmering, I turned the heat off and let the pot sit overnight.  The next day, I strained the plants from the golden-colored liquid.  Into this, I immersed three 2-ounce skeins of pre-mordanted yarn, along with a mordant sample card, and let them simmer for about 1 hour.

Goldenrod Mordant Sample Card

Left: alum; Center: iron; Right: copper

These results surprised me.  The alum-mordanted yarn was more golden, while the copper-mordanted yarn was more yellow.  I expected just the opposite from those two mordants.  This is one of the things I find most fascinating about natural dyeing.  When trying something for the first time, whether a plant, lichen, mushroom, or mordant there are always surprises.

Making Sweet Goldenrod Tea

Goldenrod leaves make a delicious anise-flavored green tea.  After snipping the flowered tops to use for dyeing, I spread all the stems with their leaves on a screen, washed them using my garden hose on the shower setting, and left them to dry in the sun for a few days.

Goldenrod leaves washed and drying in the sun

When dry,  I stripped the leaves from the stems, filling a large bowl to over-flowing.

Dried Goldenrod leaves

Next, I spread the leaves on two cookie sheets and put them in my oven for about 1 hour on the lowest possible temperature, 170 degrees, leaving the oven door ajar.  This was to make sure that no moisture remained in the leaves to mold them.  I also put a glass jar for storing the tea into the oven to remove any moisture in the jar as well.  Then I crunched up the leaves and put them in the jar.  Be careful not to crunch the leaves too much as when dry, they disintegrate easily and the particles may become so small they slip right through a tea sieve.  Next time I prepare these leaves, I plan to leave them whole or break them into much larger particles than pictured here in the jar.

Goldenrod Tea Leaves

To enjoy this tea, you may use fresh leaves or dried.  Experiment with the amount of leaves to use to get the desired strength of tea.  I prefer a stronger tea and use a little more leaves than the recipe below calls for.  When using fresh leaves, I put a handful of whole leaves in my teapot and pour on the boiling water, letting it steep for a longer period of time. Of all the green teas I have ever tasted, this is my absolute favorite!

Sweet Goldenrod Tea

2 tsps. leaves

8 ounces water

Pour boiling water over the leaves and let steep for 10 minutes.

Add a touch of honey to taste.  

Sweet Goldenrod Tea with Honey

Enjoy!