stop hating on goldenrod

ragweed–not goldenrod–is the main cause of allergies. i want everyone to stop hating on goldenrod. ragweed is your culprit. here is an expert from the Friends of the Mississippi River:

While it is certainly possible to be allergic to one of the roughly 45 species of goldenrod found in Minnesota, most people would need to touch the plant or put their face near it to get pollen into their nose and trigger their allergies. (And unless you’re an ecologist or native plant fanatic, it’s unlikely you’re nose-to-nose with goldenrod very often.) Goldenrods are primarily insect-pollinated – their flowers attract bees and other pollinators. The pollen grains they produce are large and heavy, so they stay near the plant. They also produce less pollen because they don’t have to rely on wind to carry it to other far-off plants. In comparison, ragweed (of which we have three species in Minnesota) is primarily wind-pollinated, meaning the plants rely on wind to disperse their pollen. As a result, they produce massive amounts of tiny pollen grains that the breeze then carries every which way and beyond. Many people will mistakenly remove goldenrods from their properties to avoid allergies. Not only is this usually ineffective for allergy reduction, but it’s also eliminating an important food source for native pollinators.

so, let’s all stop hating on goldenrod and just enjoy our late-summer gilded edge roads, and smile in the knowing that our pollinators are enjoying a final feast of both pollen and nectar before the cool northern winds start pushing down upon us.

goldenrod stem in bloom (Solidago)