Solidago virgaurea

Solidago virgaurea, the European goldenrod or woundwort, is an herbaceous perennial plant of the family Asteraceae. It is widespread across most of Europe as well as North Africa and northern, central, and southwestern Asia (China, Russia, India, Turkey, Kazakhstan, etc.).^[2][3][4] It is grown as a garden flower with many different cultivars. It flowers profusely in late summer.

Solidago virgaurea
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Plantae
Clade:	Tracheophytes
Clade:	Angiosperms
Clade:	Eudicots
Clade:	Asterids
Order:	Asterales
Family:	Asteraceae
Genus:	Solidago
Species:	S. virgaurea
Binomial name
Solidago virgaurea L.
Synonyms[1]
Synonymy Aster virgaurea (L.) Kuntze Dectis decurrens Raf. Doria virgaurea Scop. Solidago cantoniensis Lour. Solidago corsica (Rouy) A.W.Hill Solidago minor Mill. Solidago nudiflora Viv. Solidago pygmaea Bertol. Solidago vulgaris Lam. Aster minutus (L.) Kuntze, syn of subsp. alpestris Solidago armena Kem.-Nath. ex Grossh., syn of subsp. armena Solidago japonica Kitam., syn of subsp. asiatica Solidago calcicola (Fernald) Fernald, syn of var. calcicola Solidago caucasica Kem.-Nath., syn of subsp. caucasica Solidago dahurica Kitag., syn of subsp. dahurica Solidago gebleri Juz., syn of subsp. dahurica Solidago insularis Kitam., syn of subsp. insularis Solidago jailarum Juz., syn of subsp. jailarum Solidago lapponica With., syn of subsp. lapponica Solidago macrorrhiza Lange, syn of subsp. macrorrhiza Solidago alpestris Waldst. & Kit. ex Willd., syn of subsp. minuta Solidago cambrica Huds., syn of subsp. minuta Solidago minuta L., syn of subsp. minuta Solidago stenophylla (G.E.Schultz) Tzvelev, syn of subsp. stenophylla Solidago talyschensis Tzvelev, syn of subsp. talyschensis Solidago taurica Juz., syn of subsp. taurica Solidago turfosa Woronow ex Grossh., syn of subsp. turfosa

Flowers with Bombus cryptarum

Solidago virgaurea is a perennial herb up to 100 cm (40 inches) tall, with a branching underground caudex and a woody rhizome. It produces arrays of numerous small yellow flower heads at the top of the stem.^[3]

Subspecies and varieties^[1]

• Solidago virgaurea subsp. alpestris (Waldst. & Kit.) Gremli
• Solidago virgaurea subsp. armena (Grossh.) Greuter
• Solidago virgaurea subsp. asiatica Kitam. ex Hara
• Solidago virgaurea var. calcicola Fernald
• Solidago virgaurea subsp. caucasica (Kem.-Nath.) Greuter
• Solidago virgaurea subsp. dahurica (Kitag.) Kitag.
• Solidago virgaurea subsp. gigantea (Nakai) Kitam.
• Solidago virgaurea var. insularis (Kitam.) Hara
• Solidago virgaurea subsp. jailarum (Juz.) Tzvelev
• Solidago virgaurea subsp. lapponica (With.) Tzvelev
• Solidago virgaurea subsp. macrorrhiza (Lange) Nyman
• Solidago virgaurea subsp. minuta (L.) Arcang.
• Solidago virgaurea subsp. stenophylla (G.E.Schultz) Tzvelev
• Solidago virgaurea subsp. talyschensis (Tzvelev) Sennikov
• Solidago virgaurea subsp. taurica (Juz.) Tzvelev
• Solidago virgaurea subsp. turfosa (Woronow ex Grossh.) Greuter
• Solidago virgaurea subsp. virgaurea
• Solidago virgaurea var. virgaurea

Medicinal uses

In the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries Solidago virgaurea was used in Europe to heal wounds. Its astringent, diuretic, antiseptic and other properties are well known. In various assessments by the European Medicines Agency with respect to Solidago virgaurea, non-clinical data shows diuretic, anti-inflammatory, antioxidant, analgesic and spasmolytic, antibacterial, and immunomodulatory activity. However, as no single ingredient is responsible for these effects, the whole herbal preparation of Solidago inflorescences must be considered as the active ingredient. Further, the relevance of those effects found in vitro could not be confirmed by clinical studies.^[5]