[319] Solidago ‘Goldenmosa’ – Goldenrod
Introduction
The genus Solidago contains about a hundred species called Goldenrod, mostly originating from North America. It is widely cultivated as a number of species, hybrids and cultivars, especially as the cultivar Solidago ‘Goldenmosa,’ normally just called Goldenrod.
In and near urban environments it has escaped to be widely naturalized.
Naming conventions specify that the cultivar name is capitalized, enclosed in apostrophes, in English rather than Latin form, and not italicized.
Species from at least seven other unrelated genera are called Goldenrods.
Taxonomy
Kingdom – Plants
Division – Vascular Plants
Class – Angiosperms (Flowering Plants)
Order – Asterales
Family – Asteraceae
Supertribe – Asterodae
Tribe – Astereae
Genus – Solidago
Scientific Name – Solidago ‘Goldenmosa’
This one is a cultivar.
Name
Solidago is modern Latin coming from a Mediaeval Latin form soldago, when it was supposed to heal wounds. Classical Latin soldare from solidare (cognate with solder) means to make whole or solid.
Cultivar names can be anything the originator wants. Apart from the obvious Golden, the meaning of ‘Goldenmosa’ is not obvious. It could have been called ‘Golden Mosa,’ which looks like a peculiar mixture of languages,
Description
There are, as you know, 25 000 species in the Aster family Asteraceae. Goldenrod does have aster-like flowers but they are very small.
It has many tall straight stems up to two metres in height with long, thin leaves attached directly to the stem. At the top of each stem there are several large thick inflorescences, each containing hundreds of tiny all-yellow aster-like flower heads, so the overall impression is a mass of yellow.
Habitat and use
Most species of Solidago originate from America but they have been introduced elsewhere. Many cultivated varieties are available but ‘Goldenmosa’ is by far the post popular in the UK. I see them often in places where they are now obviously wild.
Like many other plants, species of Solidago have been used traditionally for medicinal purposes. I have given up taking these uses too seriously as almost everything has been used as a cure for almost all ailments.
See also
Other species that are now widely seen in the wild after naturalizing from garden plants include [060] Buddleia and [013] Hollyhock.
The Species of Britain 