365 Urban Species. #223: Goldenrod. #224: Ragweed.

[urbpan]

Comments

[kryptyd]

I wouldn't be so sure about people not drinking goldenrod tea because of it's horribleness! I used to work in a health food shop and have done (and continue) to take the most vile herbal remedies and teas (bilberry - yuk! aesculus - BLEYAAARG!)

[nutmeg]

In case you were curious, in my research experiment, Ragweed had more insects on it than any of the other 11 species of plants I collected.

It is quite attractive to the herbivores!

goldenrod as an ecological marker

[lucubr8r]

In the natural progression from meadow to forest (and after many years and trees die, back to meadow), I believe goldenrod is one of the last flowers to populate a meadow, and heralds the transition to woody shrubs and trees. As fascinating a plant as it is, its ubiquity always gives me pause to consider our paucity of native meadows and the human footprint on the environment.

[derekdicaprio]

I think just its name is one of the most vile things on this planet. Ragweed? It's just ugly.

[urbpan]

I almost wrote about that--one is Rags, one is Golden. They're simply descriptive names, but they are pretty revealing, at least as far as how people feel about them.

Giant Ragweed

[anonymous]

I just got a new dog from a shelter. She eats Giant Ragweed everyday. I've been researching it to find out why, but haven't gotten a clear cut answer yet.