Kentucky State Flower
Goldenrod
Goldenrod is native to all of Kentucky where over 30 of nearly 100 species of this weedy herb are found. When goldenrod was chosen as the state flower in 1926 by a joint resolution of the General Assembly, no specific species was designated.
Spread across the land like large, billowy yellow blankets, goldenrod bursts forth in full bloom in late summer. Honey-making bees use the goldenrod's nectar and that of other Asteraceae plants to make an autumn honey.
Goldenrod may range between one and eight feet in height, and some species are fragrant. Several species have serrated leaves which alternate among wand-like stems. Numerous small flower heads, composed of multi-flowered rays, crowd together to form clusters at the top of stems.
Courtesy of State of Kentucky
Image by Art Explosion 600,000.
