Bombus cryptarum - Solidago virgaurea - Keila

''Solidago virgaurea'', the European goldenrod or woundwort, is an

herbaceous Herbaceous plants are vascular plants that have no persistent woody stems above ground. This broad category of plants includes many perennials, and nearly all annuals and biennials. Definitions of "herb" and "herbaceous" The fourth edition of ...

perennial plant In horticulture, the term perennial (''wikt:per-#Prefix, per-'' + ''wikt:-ennial#Suffix, -ennial'', "through the year") is used to differentiate a plant from shorter-lived annual plant, annuals and biennial plant, biennials. It has thus been d ...

of the family

Asteraceae Asteraceae () is a large family (biology), family of flowering plants that consists of over 32,000 known species in over 1,900 genera within the Order (biology), order Asterales. The number of species in Asteraceae is rivaled only by the Orchi ...

. It is widespread across most of Europe as well as North Africa and northern, central, and southwestern Asia (China, Russia, India, Turkey, Kazakhstan, etc.).Flora of China, ''Solidago dahurica'' (Kitagawa) Kitagawa ex Juzepczuk, 1959. 兴安一枝黄花 xing an yi zhi huang hua
/ref> It is grown as a garden flower with many different cultivars. It flowers profusely in late summer. ''Solidago virgaurea'' is a perennial herb up to 100 cm (40 inches) tall, with a branching underground

caudex A caudex (: caudices) of a plant is a stem, but the term is also used to mean a rootstock and particularly a basal stem structure from which new growth arises.pages 456 and 695 In the strict sense of the term, meaning a stem, "caudex" is most ...

and a woody

rhizome In botany and dendrology, a rhizome ( ) is a modified subterranean plant stem that sends out roots and Shoot (botany), shoots from its Node (botany), nodes. Rhizomes are also called creeping rootstalks or just rootstalks. Rhizomes develop from ...

. It produces arrays of numerous small yellow

flower heads A pseudanthium (; : pseudanthia) is an inflorescence that resembles a flower. The word is sometimes used for other structures that are neither a true flower nor a true inflorescence. Examples of pseudanthia include flower heads, composite flowers ...

at the top of the stem. ;Subspecies and varietiesThe Plant List, ''Solidago virgaurea'' L.
/ref> *''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 An astringent (sometimes called adstringent) is a chemical that shrinks or constricts body tissues. The word derives from the Latin '' adstringere'', which means "to bind fast". Astringency, the dry, puckering or numbing mouthfeel caused by t ...

diuretic A diuretic () is any substance that promotes diuresis, the increased production of urine. This includes forced diuresis. A diuretic tablet is sometimes colloquially called a water tablet. There are several categories of diuretics. All diuretics ...

antiseptic An antiseptic ( and ) is an antimicrobial substance or compound that is applied to living tissue to reduce the possibility of sepsis, infection, or putrefaction. Antiseptics are generally distinguished from ''antibiotics'' by the latter's abil ...

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.European Medicines Agency, ASSESSMENT REPORT ON SOLIDAGO VIRGAUREA L., HERBA, European Medicines Agency Evaluation of Medicines for Human Use London, 4 September 200
Doc. Ref. EMEA/HMPC/285759/2007
/ref>

References

External links

* {{Taxonbar, from=Q599435 virgaurea Flora of North Africa Flora of temperate Asia Flora of tropical Asia Flora of Europe Plants described in 1753 Taxa named by Carl Linnaeus