Goldenrod, the state flower of Kentucky

How to recognize it

Goldenrods are perennial wildflowers with many small yellow flower heads gathered into plumes, wands or pyramid-shaped clusters at the tops of their stems. The size varies a great deal from species to species. Showy goldenrod, a common Kentucky example, grows two to six feet tall on stout, reddish stems, with long leaves and dense, upright clusters of bright yellow flowers.

Most goldenrods bloom from late summer into fall, when they paint fields and roadsides gold. Showy goldenrod blooms in August and September.

Not guilty of hay fever

Goldenrod has a bad reputation it does not deserve. Its pollen is heavy and sticky and is carried from flower to flower by insects, not blown on the wind, so little of it reaches people’s noses. The real culprit for late-summer hay fever is usually ragweed, an inconspicuous green plant that blooms at the same time and releases huge amounts of wind-borne pollen.

Kentucky’s many goldenrods

About 125 goldenrod species grow in North America, and more than 30 are native to Kentucky, in fields, prairies, thickets and woodland openings. Because the law names only “the goldenrod,” the Kentucky Native Plant Society notes, the state effectively has dozens of official flowers. The Salato Native Plant Program named showy goldenrod its Wildflower of the Year for 2005.

Where to see it

In late summer and fall, look along roadsides, in old fields and meadows and at the edges of woods almost anywhere in Kentucky. Goldenrod is also one of the most important late-season sources of nectar for bees and butterflies, so the flowers are usually busy with insects.

The state flower since 1926

Kentucky adopted goldenrod as its state flower in 1926, and the law is now KRS 2.090. Goldenrod also appears on the state flag, where it forms the lower half of the wreath around the state seal.