Unique zig-zag stem when viewed in cross-section, leaves very broad and pointed at both ends. Orange-yellow to yellow flowers (only 3 or 4 rays) appear in small clusters at the leaf axils and at the top of the plant. Grows from 1 to 3 feet in woodlands and rich thickets through the central and north-central Tallgrass biome.

Goldenrods spread by both seeds and rhizomes. When grown in prairies, savannas and meadows, Goldenrod is not invasive in a sunny, mesic/dry location and is amazingly hardy.

Goldenrod is a host plant for a number of beneficial insects and is used as a food source by a number of moth and butterfly caterpillars.  Goldenrod will often be covered with bees, wasps, flies and butterflies sipping nectar when it is in bloom.  Other insects including Praying Mantis, Lacewings, spiders, beetles and parasitic wasps utilize it for both habitat and food.

Goldenrod is a late season pollinator, thus provides nectar for many beneficial insects in late summer when other plants are dormant. it's pollinated primarily by insects.

Although considered a weed by some, Goldenrod has earned a reputation as a prized garden plant by gardeners worldwide providing swaths of gold color covered with buzzing insects. When including Goldenrods to your garden, avoid supplementing with additional water.

Historically Goldenrods were unjustly believed to be the cause of hay fever, however, Ragweed (Ambrosia, sp.) is the true hay fever culprit which blooms at the same time as Goldenrod.  Ragweed’s pollen is wind-born; Goldenrod's pollen is too heavy and sticky to be blown in the wind.

Edible Uses: Unknown

Medicinal Uses: Unknown

Herbal Uses: Unknown