Golden Rod.
Virga aurea.
A very pretty wild plant, with tufts of yellow flowers, frequent on our heaths in autumn. It is two feet high. The stalk is firm, erect, round, and hairy. The leaves are long, broadest in the middle, indented at the edges, rough on the surface, hairy, and of a strong green colour. The flowers are small, and of a bright yellow, but they grow together in a sort of thick and short spikes, so that they are very conspicuous. The root is long, brown, and of an austere taste, as is also the whole plant.
The root, taken up in spring and dried, is an excellent medicine given in powder for purgings, and for overflowing of the menses, bloody stools, or any other hemorrhage whatsoever. The whole plant has been at all times famous as a vulnerary or wound herb, given in decoctions.
