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Which flower prevailed in the great debate? Was it the tantalizing Tansy? Or was it the gilded Goldenrod? Read on to find out. Staff photo Rob Perez
There is an age-old debate. Which is the better flower, the Tansy or Goldenrod? Many think the Tansy, yellow, a flower, is best. Others think the Goldenrod, yellow, a flower, is superior. But only one flower is truly the best yellow flower. Let us consider the merits and shortcomings of each, keep score, and once and for all put an end to this debate.
For those rare few who don’t know a Tansy from a Goldenrod, let’s identify their flowers in full bloom. The Tansy flower looks like small yellow buttons you might find on an elegant blouse at a garden tea party. The Goldenrod flower, on the other hand, looks like a plant Dr. Seuss might have dreamed up, plant-like but asymmetrical, idiosyncratic, and whimsical.
Tansy vs. Goldenrod – Who’s more yellow? The Tansy yellow has a hint of mustard with a hint of orange in it. Sure, it’s yellow. But there is a darkness about its yellow. Goldenrod yellow, meanwhile, is brighter, more vivacious, more, I will use this word a few times in this article, floral. MOST YELLOW: GOLDENROD
Tansy vs. Goldenrod – Who’s scent is best? The Goldenrod smells, for lack of a better word, floral. It’s nice enough. But the Tansy, on the other hand, smells of camphor and rosemary. It’s a little sweet and sour. And it’s a strong scent. In the 19th century, they used to put Tansies in coffins so the deceased wouldn’t smell quite so deceased. MOST FRAGRANT: TANSY
Tansy vs. Goldenrod – Who’s more toxic? The Tansy is toxic. So then why has everyone been eating and drinking it for centuries? Tansy tea was prescribed by herbalists to expel internal parasites. Some people get a rash from touching it and yet I have an eight-year-old who loves to crush it up with his fingers and color things (including his clothes). The Brits used to cook many dishes with Tansy which helped keep them stay atop the worst-food-in-the-world list. Most confusingly, in the Middle Ages the Tansy was used both to induce abortions and prevent miscarriages. (I don’t think they knew what they were doing.) Today, the FDA limits the use of Tansy to alcoholic beverages. (So, it’s toxic but you can drink it?!) Jack Daniels, of Jack Daniels Whiskey, used to drink his whiskey with a bit of sugar, water, and Tansy. MOST TOXIC EVEN THOUGH PEOPLE SURE SEEM TO CONSUME IT ANYWAY: TANSY
The Goldenrod is not toxic! In fact, it’s an herb that people use to treat everything from tuberculosis to gout to hemorrhoids to kidney stones to rashes on your skin. They also say it has anti-inflammatory properties. I don’t know if Goldenrod actually treats any of those things but it is a diuretic, which is way better than being toxic. LEAST TOXIC AND PERHAPS A WONDERHERB: GOLDENROD
Tansy vs. Goldenrod – Who’s more likely to stain your clothes yellow? Children like to crush Tansy up and finger paint the world with it. Some, inevitably, will end up on their clothes (and somehow yours) and then you will require a sorcerer in the laundry room to get the stains out (Thanks Nancy!). MOST STAINEY: TANSY
Tansy vs. Goldenrod – Who’s more American? Goldenrod is the state flower of Kentucky, Nebraska, South Carolina and Delaware. Also, in 1773, after the Boston Tea Party, when people realized their tea was at the bottom of the harbor, they made Goldenrod tea. MOST LIKED TEA IN YE OLDE DAYS: GOLDENROD
Tansy vs. Goldenrod – Who’s more easy on the ears? Tansy is one letter away from being a pansy. Not so good. Goldenrod, on the other hand, would be an epic name for an 80s hairband. That is good. Also, Goldenrod is very close to “Golden Rob”, a nickname I failed to acquire in my youth. That is a wash. MOST HARMONIOUS: GOLDENROD
Tansy vs. Goldenrod – Who’s more street? Steve Barge from the West end of Cook County says, “The Tansy is the scourge of the North Shore and it must be killed.” You’re unlikely to hear stronger words from a local beekeeper anywhere.
Steve’s neighbor to the South, Mary Herr had to acquire her disdain. “I used to get Tansies and Goldenrod mixed up. But then Nancy, a neighbor to the South, who does not keep bees, “showed me what they were at their heart. A weed!”
Steve, Mary, and Nancy’s neighbor to the North, Greg Koschinska, a seasoned contrarian, says, “Everyone tells me I’m supposed to hate Tansies because they’re invasive. But I dunno. I’m kind of indifferent.” As passion erupts – “Scourge!” “Weed!”- a true contrarian finds the way by not picking a side.
Tansy vs. Goldenrod – Who wins the day? In the end, only one flower, yellow, can claim the title of “Most floral”. Sometimes a fight goes down to the wire. Sometimes it’s a blowout. That’s sport. In the end… the Tansy, yellow, an invasive weed, is not well-loved. It’s mostly hated. Also, it stains clothes. Goldenrod, yellow, an herb and a great source for late-season pollinators, inspires an unspoken tolerance. The only people who hate Goldenrod think it contributes to hay fever. That is false. A myth. Untrue. Goldenrod is simply around when ragweed wreaks havoc so that is not a valid reason to hate a flower.
In the head-to-head of Tansy vs. Goldenrod, the winner, yesterday, today, tomorrow, and forever – and until someone writes in and convinces me otherwise, is Goldenrod.
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