Apr 16
Goldenseal in the garden. 10 stems of it this year. I guess it’s happy.
seen from Germany
seen from Sweden
seen from Malaysia
seen from Canada
seen from China
seen from Germany
seen from United Kingdom
seen from United States
seen from Germany
seen from Canada
seen from United States
seen from China
seen from China
seen from India
seen from Russia
seen from Cuba
seen from Belgium
seen from United States
seen from Türkiye
seen from China
Goldenseal in the garden. 10 stems of it this year. I guess it’s happy.
Goldenseal (Hydrastis canadensis), is one of Appalachia’s most storied medicinal plants, having been used by Native Americans as a bitter tonic to treat digestive and liver problems and more recently by mountain folk as an insect repellent, throat gargle, and topical treatment for cuts and abrasions. Nonetheless, this fragile and beautiful perennial has been overharvested throughout much of its range, and mountaintop removal in the plant’s core habitat in Central Appalachia has decimated its populations. Goldenseal should never be harvested from the wild. Instead, it can be propagated from seed or rhizome cuttings available from reputable plant nurseries. Nowadays, finding this member of the buttercup family in the wild is a real treat. For those interested in learning more, goldenseal has one of the most fascinating lifecycles of any of our native plants, as described here.
Goldenseal in flower and fruit pin set, 2022. Claimed.
Hydrastis canadensis and Jeffersonia diphylla, along twinleaf creek, a well named tributary that eventually makes it’s way down to Laughery Creek at Versailles SP, IN.
Both Golden Seal and Twin Leaf were at one point poached heavily for different reasons, one was of medicinal value and the other was for aesthetic and collection gardens. As a midwestern plant Twin Leaf prefers karst layers with rich mesic soils that don’t dry out but are never fully saturated to the point where field capacity is exceeded; for this reason it is seen in mature-old growth mesic woods along open streamside edges of less turbulent streams. Goldenseal is found in similar locations; though, it can handle dry soil for a bit.
Somehow after 5 years and two field seasons there are still places at Strouds Run I’ve never been, and today I found some beautiful fruiting goldenseal patches on a new trail.
Goldenseal in the garden. So glad it made it to another year despite the drought! And it has spread. At least 3 separate plants now.
Goldenseal in the garden.
A better picture of the goldenseal, as promised. Hydrastis canadensis.