Home > Encyclopedia of Alternative Medicine > Goldenrod

Description

Averaging about 4 ft (1.2 m) in height, goldenrod is a perennial with clusters of bright yellow flowers. It has been used for centuries in the treatment of kidney stones, urinary tract infections, and a variety of other medical conditions. One legend has it that a 10-year-old boy who received an infusion of goldenrod for several months in the late eighteenth century passed 50 gravel stones larger than a pea. Native Americans used goldenrod to alleviate sore throat, and blue mountain tea made from goldenrod leaves is sometimes used to combat fatigue in the Appalachian Mountains. Goldenrod varieties...