By Mary Grizzard
One of the loveliest species of all goldenrod varieties is the Gulf Coast’s Seaside Goldenrod, bearing clusters of a hundred or more tiny, brilliant gold ray flowers along the length of its tall, branching stem from August into winter.
But Solidago Sempervirens is an often-maligned wildflower because of the mistaken notion that its attractive blooms cause seasonal allergies.
When late summer hay fever sufferers begin experiencing watery, itching eyes, stuffy noses and endless sneezing, they start looking around to see what might be causing their misery. Then, they spot the prolific, conspicuous and newly flowering goldenrod festooning the dunes and bay shores. But that is a classic case of misleading circumstantial evidence. Goldenrod pollen is large, heavy and sticky, relying on visiting pollinating insects, not the wind, for transport from one flower to the next. Its pollen grains are too heavy to become airborne and inhaled by unlucky human lungs.
As its name implies, Seaside Goldenrod live primarily near the ocean. It is an extremely important member of our coastal community. Because it is tolerant of intense sunshine, salty soils and salty sea spray, it thrives on sand dunes and salt marshes. Its thick and waxy leaves protect it from the desiccating and salt-laden environment of a windy beach or bayside wetland. This species of goldenrod possesses rhizomes and a long taproot, keeping it anchored in the sand once established. It does such a good job at holding the dunes together that it has been intentionally planted to stabilize dunes and control erosion. It also grows well between a barrier island ecosystem’s foredunes and back dunes. Many shorebirds take advantage of this floral shelter and make their nests there.
Seaside goldenrod is a vital plant for pollinators. Each tiny flower is like a miniature dessert bowl of nectar. Over a hundred butterfly species and moths are known to stop by for a drink and use goldenrod as a host plant to lay their eggs. Seaside goldenrods are still in full bloom throughout autumn, precisely when Monarch butterflies are headed to Mexico, and they rely on them as a critical food source to fuel their migratory flights. Honeybees gather large amounts of nectar from goldenrod blossoms and many species of native bees gather its pollen; in fact, some native bee species will only eat goldenrod. Beetles, midges and flies also arrive in droves to feed on Seaside Goldenrod, and while we may be less enthused about midges and flies than we are about monarchs, it’s important to remember that many of our native and migrating bird species depend upon these insects in their diet. Many songbirds also benefit greatly from goldenrods’ dried seed heads which remain throughout the winter.
If you had to choose only one native plant species to add to your flower garden, you couldn’t do better than the beautiful, easy-to-grow, beneficent seaside goldenrod.
Comments