Rhodiola Rosea: The Arctic Plant Guide to the Golden Root

Rhodiola rosea sounds like something from a northern legend, and its real story is nearly as striking. This hardy plant grows in cold, rocky places across the Northern Hemisphere, and it is one of the nine ingredients the brand names for SodaSteel. Here we keep to botany, geography and plant facts, so you can picture where the name on the label comes from. For the product overview, see What Is SodaSteel.

What is Rhodiola rosea?

Rhodiola rosea is a perennial flowering plant in the stonecrop family, Crassulaceae. Its relatives include the succulents many people keep on windowsills, such as sedum and jade plants. Like those cousins, Rhodiola has thick, fleshy, blue-green leaves that store water, an adaptation suited to dry, windy ground.

The plant grows from a thick underground stem called a rhizome. Each spring the rhizome sends up several upright stems crowded with leaves, topped with dense clusters of small yellow flowers, sometimes tinged with red or orange. Rhodiola plants are dioecious, which means individual plants are either male or female, with separate flowers on separate plants.

Why it is called golden root and rose root

The plant goes by several common names. "Golden root" refers to the rhizome's color, which is often yellowish to bronze under a papery brown skin. "Rose root" and the species name rosea come from a scent: when a fresh rhizome is cut, it releases a fragrance people have compared to roses. The botanical name Rhodiola itself comes from a Greek word for rose.

Older botanical writings used other names for the same plant, including Sedum rosea, which shows how closely it is related to the stonecrops. You may also see "Arctic root" in garden and herbal references, a name that points straight to its home territory.

Where Rhodiola grows

This is a plant of cold, exposed, high or northern places. Wild populations are found across the Arctic and mountainous regions of Europe, Asia and North America, including parts of Scandinavia, Iceland, Siberia, the Alps, the Carpathians and the Rocky Mountains.

• Cliffs and ledges: it often grows in rock crevices and on sea cliffs.
• Alpine slopes: it appears in gravelly mountain meadows above the tree line.
• Arctic tundra: its thick rhizome helps it endure frozen winters.
• Cold coasts: in the far north it grows within reach of salt spray.

Growing in such tough ground, Rhodiola is naturally slow. A plant may take several years to reach maturity, and wild stands can be small and scattered. For that reason, conservation groups and growers have paid attention to cultivating the plant on farms, using prepared beds, cold-tolerant seed and patient care.

How the plant is grown and gathered

Cultivated Rhodiola is usually started from seed or from divided rhizomes. Seeds need a period of cold before they sprout, a process gardeners call cold stratification, which mimics a mountain winter. Some growers keep seed trays in a refrigerator or an unheated shed for weeks before sowing. Growers choose well-drained soil, because soggy ground does not suit a plant adapted to rock. After several seasons the rhizomes are dug, washed, sliced and dried.

Dried rhizome can be kept in pieces, milled to powder, or processed into an extract. Extraction is a general technique used for many plants: the material is soaked in a solvent, filtered and concentrated. Different makers use different methods, which is why a product label is always the best reference for what is in a specific item. The NIH Office of Dietary Supplements offers a handy consumer guide to dietary supplements for reading those labels with confidence.

Growing Rhodiola in a home garden

Gardeners who enjoy rockeries often try Rhodiola because it asks for so little once it settles in. Choose a sunny or lightly shaded spot, mix coarse sand or grit into the soil for sharp drainage, and water only when the top layer is dry. Plants are slow to establish, and patience is part of the pleasure: a young clump may take a few seasons to fill out. In late spring, the yellow flower heads attract small bees and hoverflies, and in autumn the foliage can turn shades of bronze and red.

Because male and female plants grow separately, a garden that wants seed needs both. Many gardeners simply enjoy the foliage and flowers and divide clumps in spring to share with neighbors. Compare it with its relatives, the sedums, and you will see the family resemblance in the fleshy leaves and star-shaped flowers. A nearby extension office or botanical garden can suggest varieties suited to your region.

A plant with a place in northern folklore

Rhodiola has appeared in the folk traditions of northern and mountain communities for a very long time. Accounts from Scandinavia, Russia and Central Asia mention it in the context of local customs and teas. It is worth enjoying as cultural history: stories about a tough plant that holds on in cold mountain country, rather than a statement about anything it does. Plants like this fascinate gardeners because they look delicate in bloom and yet endure weather that would defeat most flowers.

Many rock gardeners grow Rhodiola as an ornamental. Its blue-green foliage and golden summer flowers look lovely in a sunny, well-drained spot, and it spreads slowly into tidy clumps.

Rhodiola in the SodaSteel lineup

The brand names nine ingredients: Vitamin B3, Vitamin B6, Zinc, L-Carnitine, L-Citrulline, Grape Seed Extract, Panax Ginseng, Maca Root and Rhodiola Rosea. Amounts are not published, so none are given here. SodaSteel is a dietary supplement in gummy form, and the brand describes the gummies as stimulant-free, non-GMO and gluten-free. The bottle label reads "Supports Stamina", "Maintain Healthy Muscle" and "Maintain Energy", and the bottle artwork shows 60 gummies.

The complete ingredient overview is on the ingredients page. For daily use, follow the serving directions printed on the bottle label, and see How to Take SodaSteel for routine ideas. Fans of root stories may also like the Panax ginseng guide and the maca guide.

Taking the plant tour further

If a plant catches your interest, a regional botanical garden or a good field guide is a delightful next step. For general reading on supplements as a category, the U.S. FDA page on dietary supplements is a straightforward starting point. Whenever you are ready to compare bottles, the order page shows the current price and offer, the 60-day money-back guarantee, and pack options of 2, 3 and 6 bottles. Check today's offer on the order page