Goldenrod

[Abby Brown] Here at Nahant Marsh, we're surrounded by really interesting plants and animals and one of them is goldenrod. Amy Loving is a naturalist here at Mahant Marsh so she knows lots about all of the plants and animals that live here, but we are surrounded by goldenrod right now so tell me about this amazing plant.

[Amy Loving] Yeah! So this plant is going to provide a lot of nectar sources for our butterflies, our bees, our wasps and it's really good because it's blooming now in fall where there's not a lot of nectar sources so it's going to be a great way to get them built up for for winter.

[Abby] Yeah, and as I look around I can see some creatures already crawling around on there but there's one specific little thing I'm curious about and it's this little bump right here. Tell me about that.

[Amy] Yeah, so this is a gall, and lots of plants form these galls, and it really comes from an insect that has agitated the plant in some way so what's growing inside of here is a goldenrod gall fly. And it's actually the larvae of the fly that's growing in there and as it eats away at the plant the saliva is  actually signaling the plant to grow this ball around it so it's got its own little chamber right inside of there and it's going to just eat away all summer long and then come spring it will emerge as an adult fly.

[Abby] Oh my gosh! And there's a special name for a fly in its larva stage right? What's that called?

[Amy] A maggot.

[Abby] A maggot! So there's a maggot in there?

[Amy] Yes, yes.

[Abby] Okay!

[Amy] And they're a good food source for birds in the winter actually. So black cap chickadees and downy woodpeckers will actually peck little holes in there and get those little maggots out.

[Abby] So goldenrod doesn't just grow here at Nahant Marsh, correct?

[Amy] Correct. We can find it all over Iowa, and in fact all over the United States. It's going to be blooming in roadside ditches and prairies and it really will grow just about anywhere.

[Abby] Nahant Marsh is full of all sorts of life. So as you sit in your home, or in your school, your library, wherever you are think about what types of life might be right outside your window.

[Announcer] Funding for FIND Iowa has been provided by the following supporters.

(text on screen Find Iowa, Coons Foundation, Pella, REAP-CEP, Gilchrist Foundation)

(text on screen Iowa PBS Education)