Cultural Significance
The goldenrod is the state flower of the U.S. states of Kentucky (adopted March 16, 1926) and Nebraska (adopted April 4, 1895). It used to be the state flower of Alabama, being adopted as such on September 6, 1927, but was later rejected in favour of the camellia. Goldenrod was recently named the state wildflower for South Carolina.
The Sweet Goldenrod (Solidago odora) is also the state herb of Delaware as of June 24, 1996.
In Midwestern states in the mid-twentieth century it was said that when the goldenrod bloomed, it would soon be time to go back to school—the blossoms appeared in mid- to late August, shortly before the traditional start of school on the day after Labor Day.
In Sufjan Stevens' song "Casimir Pulaski Day", the narrator brings goldenrod to his girlfriend upon finding out that she has been diagnosed with bone cancer. Carrie Hamby's song "Solidago" tells the story of Thomas Edison's experiments with making goldenrod a domestic source of rubber that ended with the invention of synthetic rubber during WWII. The Blondie song Golden Rod from the album The Curse of Blondie compares the narrator to the plant as "another blonde, not from the city".
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