Editing Solidago (section)

==Use and cultivation==
Young goldenrod leaves are edible.<ref>[http://nhguide.dbs.umt.edu/index.php?c=plants&m=desc&id=263 ''Solidago missouriensis'', Missouri goldenrod.] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130927231934/http://nhguide.dbs.umt.edu/index.php?c=plants&m=desc&id=263 |date=2013-09-27 }} Northern Rockies Natural History Guide. University of Montana, Missoula.</ref> Traditionally, Native Americans use the seeds of some species for food.<ref>[http://herb.umd.umich.edu/herb/search.pl?searchstring=Solidago+nemoralis ''Solidago nemoralis''.] Native American Ethnobotany. University of Michigan, Dearborn.</ref> [[Herbal tea]]s are sometimes made with goldenrod.<ref>[http://umm.edu/health/medical/altmed/herb/goldenrod Goldenrod.] Complementary and Alternative Medicine Guide. University of Maryland Medical Center.</ref>

Goldenrod often is inaccurately said to cause [[hay fever]] in humans.<ref name="Corporation2001"/> The pollen causing this allergic reaction is produced mainly by [[ragweed]] (''Ambrosia'' sp.), blooming at the same time as the goldenrod and pollinated by wind. Goldenrod [[pollen]] is too heavy and sticky to be blown far from the flowers, and is pollinated mainly by insects.<ref name="Corporation2001">{{cite book|author=Marshall Cavendish Corporation|title=Endangered Wildlife and Plants of the World: Fra-Igu|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=40jA0MOWejIC&pg=PA632|year=2001|publisher=Marshall Cavendish|isbn=978-0-7614-7199-8|pages=632–}}</ref> Frequent handling of goldenrod and other flowers, however, can cause allergic reactions, sometimes irritating enough to force [[floristry|florists]] to change occupation.<ref>{{cite journal|pmid=9534922|date=Feb 1998|author=de Jong, N. W.|title=Occupational allergy caused by flowers|volume=53|issue=2|pages=204–9|issn=0105-4538|journal=Allergy|doi=10.1111/j.1398-9995.1998.tb03872.x|s2cid=41094680|display-authors=etal}}</ref> Goldenrods are attractive sources of nectar for bees, flies, wasps, and butterflies. [[Honey]] from goldenrods often is dark and strong because of admixtures of other nectars. However, when [[honey flow]] is strong, a light (often water-clear), spicy-tasting [[monofloral honey]] is produced. While the bees are ripening the honey produced from goldenrods, it has a rank odour and taste; the finished honey is much milder.

Goldenrods are, in some places, considered a sign of good luck or good fortune.<ref name="Silverthorne2002"/> They are considered [[weed]]s by many in North America, but they are seen as invasive plants in Europe, where British gardeners adopted goldenrod as a garden subject.{{citation needed|date=November 2022}} Goldenrod began to gain some acceptance in U.S. gardening (other than wildflower gardening) during the 1980s.{{citation needed|date=November 2022}}

===Cultivated species===
Cultivated goldenrods include ''[[Solidago bicolor|S. bicolor]]'', ''[[Solidago caesia|S. caesia]]'', ''[[Solidago canadensis|S. canadensis]]'', ''[[Solidago cutleri|S. cutleri]]'', ''[[Solidago riddellii|S. riddellii]],'' ''[[Solidago rigida|S. rigida]]'', ''[[Solidago shortii|S. shortii]]'', and ''[[Solidago virgaurea|S. virgaurea]]''.<ref name="JelittoSchacht1995">{{cite book|author1=Jelitto, L.|author2=Schacht, W.|title=Hardy Herbaceous Perennials: A–K ; Vol. 2, L–Z|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=efFzRAAACAAJ|access-date=4 October 2010|year=1995|publisher=Timber Press|isbn=978-0-88192-159-5|page=629}}</ref>

A number of [[cultivar]]s have been selected, including several of hybrid origin. A putative hybrid with [[Aster (genus)|aster]], known as ×''Solidaster'' is less unruly, with pale yellow flowers, equally suitable for dried arrangements. Molecular and other evidence points to ×''Solidaster'' (at least the cultivar 'Lemore') being a hybrid of ''[[Solidago ptarmicoides]]'' and ''[[Solidago canadensis]]'', the former now in ''Solidago'', but likely the "aster" in question.<ref name="Schilling-2008">{{cite journal|url=http://web.utk.edu/~rsmall/Solidaster.pdf|last1=Schilling|first1=E. E.|year=2008|title=Molecular Analysis of ''Solidaster'' cv. Lemore, a Hybrid Goldenrod (Asteraceae)|journal=Journal of the Botanical Research Institute of Texas|volume=2|pages=7–18|display-authors=etal}}</ref>

The [[cultivars]] 'Goldenmosa'<ref>{{cite web|title=RHS Plant Selector - ''Solidago'' 'Goldenmosa'|url=http://apps.rhs.org.uk/plantselector/plant?plantid=1848|access-date=10 June 2013}}</ref>
and ''S.'' × ''luteus'' 'Lemore'<ref>{{cite web|title=RHS Plant Selector - ''Solidago'' × ''luteus'' 'Lemore'|url=http://apps.rhs.org.uk/plantselector/plant?plantid=2054|access-date=10 June 2013}}</ref> have gained the [[Royal Horticultural Society]]'s [[Award of Garden Merit]].<ref>{{cite web | url = https://www.rhs.org.uk/plants/pdfs/agm-lists/agm-ornamentals.pdf | title = AGM Plants - Ornamental | date = July 2017 | page = 98 | publisher = Royal Horticultural Society 
| access-date = 12 November 2018}}</ref>

===Industrial use===
Inventor [[Thomas Edison]] experimented with goldenrod to produce [[rubber]], which it contains naturally.<ref>{{cite magazine|url=https://content.time.com/time/subscriber/article/0,33009,881890,00.html|author=<!-- Staff writer(s); no by-line -->|title=Goldenrod Rubber|date=December 16, 1929|magazine=[[Time (magazine)|Time]]|access-date=June 6, 2017}}</ref> Edison created a fertilization and cultivation process to maximize the rubber content in each plant.<ref>{{Cite web |title=SL345/SS548: Fertilizer Experimentation, Data Analyses, and Interpretation for Developing Fertilization Recommendations—Examples with Vegetable Crop Research |url=https://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/publication/SS548 |access-date=2022-06-13 |website=edis.ifas.ufl.edu |language=en}}</ref> His experiments produced a {{convert|12|ft|m|adj=mid|-tall|abbr=on}} plant that yielded as much as 12% rubber, and the new variant was named ''Solidago edisoni'',<ref>{{cite news |title=Phonograph exhibit hints at rubber invention |url=https://www.orlandosentinel.com/1992/10/04/phonograph-exhibit-hints-at-rubber-invention/ |access-date=19 December 2024 |publisher=The Orlando Sentinel |date=4 October 1992}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last1=Thulesius |first1=Olav |title=Edison in Florida: the Green Laboratory |date=1997 |publisher=University Press of Florida |location=Gainesville |isbn=0-8130-1521-9 |pages=83-93}}</ref> also called ''Solidago edisoniana''.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Vargues |first1=Lisa |title=In Search of Thomas Edison's Botanical Treasures |url=https://www.nybg.org/blogs/science-talk/2013/10/in-search-of-thomas-edisons-botanical-treasures/ |access-date=19 December 2024 |publisher=The New York Botanical Garden |date=30 October 2013}}</ref> The tires on the [[Model T]] given to him by his friend [[Henry Ford]] were made from goldenrod. Like [[George Washington Carver]], [[Henry Ford]] was deeply interested in the regenerative properties of soil and the potential of alternative crops such as peanuts and soybeans to produce plastics, paint, fuel and other products.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Harris |first=Karen |title=George Washington Carver And Henry Ford Worked On Experimental Projects Together |url=https://historydaily.org/george-washington-carver-henry-ford-experiments |access-date=2022-06-13 |website=History Daily |language=en}}</ref> 

Ford had long believed that the world would eventually need a substitute for gasoline, and supported the production of ethanol (or grain alcohol) as an alternative fuel.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2012-11-25 |title=Henry Ford, Charles Kettering and the fuel of the future |url=https://environmentalhistory.org/people/henry-ford-charles-kettering-and-the-fuel-of-the-future/ |access-date=2022-06-13 |website=Environmental history |language=en-US}}</ref> In 1942, he would showcase a car with a lightweight plastic body made from soybeans. Ford and Carver began corresponding via letter in 1934, and their mutual admiration deepened after [[George Washington Carver]] made a visit to Michigan in 1937. As [[Douglas Brinkley]] writes in ''Wheels for the World'',<ref>{{Cite book |last=Brinkley |first=Douglas |url=https://cmc.marmot.org/Record/.b21749760 |title=Wheels for the world : Henry Ford, his company, and a century of progress, 1903-2003 / |date=2003 |publisher=Viking |isbn=978-0-670-03181-8}}</ref> his history of Ford, the automaker donated generously to the Tuskegee Institute, helping finance Carver's experiments, and Carver in turn spent a period of time helping to oversee crops at the Ford plantation in Ways, Georgia.

By the time World War II began, Ford had made repeated journeys to Tuskegee to convince [[George Washington Carver]] to come to [[Dearborn, Michigan|Dearborn]] and help him develop a synthetic rubber to help compensate for wartime rubber shortages. Carver arrived on July 19, 1942, and set up a laboratory in an old water works building in Dearborn. He and Ford experimented with different crops, including sweet potatoes and dandelions, eventually devising a way to make the rubber substitute from goldenrod, a plant weed commercially viable.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/george-washington-carver-begins-experimental-project-with-henry-ford|title=George Washington Carver Begins Experimental Project with Henry Ford – Jul 19, 1942 |author=<!--Staff writer(s); no by-line.-->|publisher=[[History (U.S. TV channel)]]|access-date=20 May 2015}}</ref> Carver died in January 1943, Ford in April 1947, but the relationship between their two institutions continued to flourish: As recently as the late 1990s, Ford awarded grants of $4 million over two years to the George Washington Carver School at Tuskegee.<ref>{{Cite web |title=George Washington Carver |url=https://www.acs.org/content/acs/en/education/whatischemistry/landmarks/carver.html |access-date=2022-06-13 |website=American Chemical Society |language=en}}</ref>

Extensive process development was conducted during World War II to commercialize goldenrod as a source of rubber.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://naldc.nal.usda.gov/catalog/CAT30868499|title=Extraction, Characterization, and Utilization of Goldenrod Rubber|publisher=US Department of Agriculture|date=9 September 1944|access-date=27 Sep 2011}}</ref> The rubber is only contained in the leaves, not the stems or blooms.<ref>{{Cite journal |title=What Is Natural Rubber and Why Are We Searching for New Sources? |year=2019 |language=en |doi=10.3389/frym.2019.00100|doi-access=free |last1=Arias |first1=Marina |last2=Van Dijk |first2=Peter J. |journal=Frontiers for Young Minds |volume=7 }}</ref> Typical rubber content of the leaves is 7%. The resulting rubber is of low [[molecular weight]], resulting in an excessively tacky compound with poor tensile properties.<ref>{{Cite web |title=weakest rubber compounds: Topics by Science.gov |url=https://www.science.gov/topicpages/w/weakest+rubber+compounds |access-date=2022-06-13 |website=www.science.gov |language=en}}</ref>

===Traditional medicine===
''[[Solidago virgaurea]]'' is used in a traditional kidney tonic by practitioners of [[herbalism|herbal medicine]] to counter inflammation and irritation caused by bacterial infections or [[kidney stone]]s.<ref>{{cite journal | pmid = 15638071 |date=November 2004 | author = Melzig, M. F. | title = Goldenrod – a Classical Exponent in the Urological Phytotherapy | volume = 154 | issue = 21–22 | pages = 523–527 | issn = 0043-5341 | journal = Wiener Medizinische Wochenschrift | doi = 10.1007/s10354-004-0118-4|s2cid=20348306 }}</ref><ref name="campion" >Campion, K. (1995). ''Holistic Woman's Herbal – How to Achieve Health and Well-Being at Any Age''. Barnes & Noble, Inc. 1995. pp. 65, 96. {{ISBN|978-0-7607-1030-2}}</ref> Goldenrod is also used in some formulas for cleansing of the kidney or bladder during a healing fast, in conjunction with potassium broth and specific juices.<ref name="campion" /> Some [[Native Americans in the United States|Native American]] cultures traditionally chew the leaves to relieve sore throats, and the roots to relieve toothaches.<ref name="Silverthorne2002">{{cite book|author=Silverthorne, E.|title=Legends and Lore of Texas Wildflowers|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=w_hKCayJzOoC&pg=PA61|access-date=4 October 2010|year=2002|publisher=Texas A&M University Press|isbn=978-1-58544-230-0|pages=61–}}</ref>

===Medicinal exploration===
In various assessments by the European Medicines Agency with respect to ''[[Solidago virgaurea]]'', non-clinical data shows diuretic, anti-inflammatory, antioxidant, analgesic and spasmolytic, antibacterial, antifungal, anticancer and immunomodulatory activity. However, as no single ingredient is responsible for these effects, the whole herbal preparation of ''Solidago'' inflorescences must be considered as the active ingredient.<ref>European Medicines Agency, ''Assessment Report on ''Solidago Virgaurea'' L., Herba'', European Medicines Agency Evaluation of Medicines for Human Use London, 4 September 2008 [https://www.ema.europa.eu/en/documents/herbal-report/assessment-report-solidago-virgaurea-l-herba_en.pdf Doc. Ref. EMEA/HMPC/285759/2007]</ref>