Goldenrod, a year round benefactor.
Just about everyone recognizes goldenrod. The ubiquitous wild aster in the solidago genus, is so common along the trail it’s easy to overlook. Goldenrod blooms late in the summer, its flamboyant yellow flowers famous for attracting bees and butterflies in throngs.
“When the first silent frost has trod The ghost-yard of the goldenrod, And laid the blight of his cold hand Upon the warm autumnal land, And all things wait the subtle change That men call death, is it not strange That I- without a care or need, Who only am an idle weed. Should wait unmoved, so frail, so bold, The coming of the final cold!”
William Bliss Carman
And then, as winter approaches, the showy yellow flowers mature into fluffy grey-white seed heads. Standing tall, the goldenrod holds up long plume-like spires with dense clusters of seeds that provide food for many birds and small mammals. The American goldfinch is fond of tiny goldenrod seeds and so are swamp sparrows, eastern towhees, pine siskins, and dark-eyed juncos. You might even see a ruffed grouse eating goldenrod seeds on a cold winter day.
So frail, so bold...and so generous!
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