Double benefit: Delicious in wild herb salads and healthy as a tea
Goldenrod has been known as a medicinal plant since antiquity. This perennial grows as a 40 to 100-centimeter-tall herb with oblong leaves. Typical of goldenrod are its numerous, golden-yellow flower heads, up to 15 mm wide, which usually appear between June and September. Because the plant produces a great deal of nectar, it is a popular plant for bees and other insects and is considered ecologically valuable. Its medicinal properties: For urinary tract problems and cystitis, a tea made from goldenrod is considered a good herbal remedy. To prepare it, steep one teaspoon of goldenrod in a cup of boiling water and strain the herb through a tea strainer after 20 minutes. Two to four cups are recommended daily between meals. The young shoot tips can be used in wild herb salads, and the leaves can be cooked like spinach. The flowers can be used as a garnish in salads.
Natural habitat: Goldenrod is native to Algeria and Morocco across Europe to Japan and prefers to grow on dry forest meadows and forest edges at higher altitudes with a more temperate climate.
