Handbook of Nature-Study · Lesson CXXXVI · Topic 21: Flower families: the composites
136. The goldenrod
Goal: Your child uses the composite outline on goldenrod, sketches the shape of the plant, and keeps a list of insects and galls found on it.
You'll need
- Nature notebook, pencil and colored pencils
- A hand lens (magnifying glass)
- A field guide or app for goldenrods (optional)
What's in the book
A Teacher's Story about goldenrod and the lesson: Leading thought, Method and seven questions, with a drawing of a disk-flower and banner-flower, and a poem by Mary Clemmer Ames.
The lesson, step by step
When and where
Goldenrod blooms from about August into October in fields, roadsides and woods' edges, often with asters. Bees and wasps love it: watch them from a little distance and don't grab a stem that has an insect on it.
The leading thought
In the goldenrod the flower-heads or families are so small that, in order to attract the attention of the insects, they are set closely together along the stem to produce a mass of color.
Use the outline
Use Lesson CXXXV to study the flower. How many banner-flowers in the family? How many disk-flowers?
Pick one tiny flower-head and look with the lens. Count the little rays.
The shape of the plant
Which flower-heads open first—those at the base or at the tip of the stem?
Make a sketch of the general shape of the goldenrod you are studying.
Some goldenrods are like plumes, some like elm trees, some like wands.
Field notes
Where do you find the goldenrod growing? Do you find one kind growing alone or several kinds growing together?
Insects and galls
How many kinds of insects do you find visiting goldenrod flowers? How many kinds of galls do you find on the goldenrod stems and leaves?
A round swelling on the stem is a gall made by a tiny fly that lives inside. Comstock's Part II has more about the gall insects.
Nature notebook
Sketch the outline of your goldenrod plant and one flower-head enlarged. Make a tally list of insect visitors.
Afterwards
Visit again in November, as Comstock asks: ~ Study the goldenrods in November. Describe their seeds and how they are scattered.
Tip
Goldenrod is often blamed for hay fever, but its pollen is heavy and carried by insects. The usual culprit is ragweed, which blooms at the same time and has green, wind-blown pollen.