| Ambrosia artemisiifolia | |
|---|---|
 | |
Scientific classification  | |
| Kingdom: | Plantae |
| Clade: | Tracheophytes |
| Clade: | Angiosperms |
| Clade: | Eudicots |
| Clade: | Asterids |
| Order: | Asterales |
| Family: | Asteraceae |
| Genus: | Ambrosia |
| Species: | A. artemisiifolia |
| Binomial name | |
| Ambrosia artemisiifolia | |
| Synonyms | |
| |
Ambrosia artemisiifolia, with the common names common ragweed, annual ragweed, and low ragweed, is a species of the genus Ambrosia native to regions of the Americas. [2] [3]
The species name, artemisiifolia, is given because the leaves were thought to bear a resemblance to the leaves of Artemisia, the true wormwoods.
It has also been called the common names: American wormwood, bitterweed, blackweed, carrot weed, hay fever weed, Roman wormwood, short ragweed, stammerwort, stickweed, tassel weed. [2] [4]
The plant is native to: North America across Canada, the eastern and central United States, the Great Plains, and in Alaska; the Caribbean on Cuba, Hispaniola, and Jamaica; and South America in the southern bioregion (Argentina, Chile, Paraguay, Uruguay), the western bioregion (Bolivia, Peru), and Brazil. [2] [5] [6] [7] The distribution of common ragweed in Europe is expected to expand northwards in the future due to climate change. [8]
It is the most widespread species of the genus in North America, to which most of the other species of Ambrosia are endemic. During the summer it causes allergic reaction in those that are susceptible.
Ambrosia artemisiifolia is an annual plant that emerges in late spring. It propagates mainly by rhizomes,[ clarification needed ] but also by seed. [4]
It is much-branched, and grows up to 70 centimetres (2.3 ft) in height. [9] The pinnately divided soft and hairy leaves are 3–12 centimetres (1.2–4.7 in) long. [9]
Its bloom period is July to October in North America. [9] Its pollen is wind-dispersed, and can be a strong allergen to people with hay fever. [4] [10]
It produces 2–4 mm obconic green to brown fruit. [9] It sets seed in later summer or autumn. Since the seeds persist into winter and are numerous and rich in oil, they are relished by songbirds and upland game birds. [4]
This species is host to the following insect induced galls:
Common ragweed, Ambrosia artemisiifolia, is a widespread invasive species, and can become a noxious weed, that has naturalized in: Europe; temperate Asia and the Indian subcontinent; temperate northern and southern Africa and Macaronesia; Oceania in Australia, New Zealand, and Hawaii; and Southwestern North America in California and the Southwestern United States. [2] [9] [11] [12] [13] [14] [15] [16] A scientific study investigated the genomic basis of invasiveness in Ambrosia artemisiifolia, introduced to Europe in the late 19th century, by resequencing 655 ragweed genomes, including 308 herbarium specimens collected up to 190 years ago. [17] In invasive European populations, the study found selection signatures in defense genes and lower prevalence of disease-inducing plant pathogens. Together with temporal changes in population structure associated with introgression from closely related Ambrosia species, escape from specific microbial enemies likely favored the remarkable success of common ragweed as an invasive species.
Common ragweed is a very competitive weed and can produce yield losses in soybeans as high as 30 percent. Control with night tillage reduces emergence by around 45 percent. Small grains in rotation will also suppress common ragweed if they are overseeded with clover. Otherwise, the ragweed will grow and mature and produce seeds in the small grain stubble.
Its wind-blown pollen is highly allergenic.
As of 2005 [update] several herbicides were effective against common ragweed, although resistant populations were known to exist. [18] In 2007 several Ambrosia artemisiifolia populations were glyphosate resistant, exclusively in the USA. [19]
As of 2014 [update] the ragweed leaf beetle, Ophraella communa , has been found south of the Alps in southern Switzerland and northern Italy. Many of the attacked plants were completely defoliated. [20] Zygogramma suturalis was introduced to Russia, and then China, for ragweed control, with very positive initial results.
SMARTER is a European interdisciplinary network of experts involved in the control of ragweed, health care professionals, aerobiologists, ecologists, economists, and atmospheric and agricultural modellers. [21]
Three sesquiterpene lactones isolated from the aerial parts of Ambrosia artemisiifolia were identified as psilostachyin A, psilostachyin B and psilostachyin C. All of them have some molluscicidal activity against the small tropical freshwater snail Oncomelania hupensis . [22]
Ambrosia artemisiifolia has been a traditional medicinal plant for Native American tribes, including the Cherokee, Lakota, Iroquois, Dakota, and Delaware. [23]
Ambrosia artemisiifolia is used in phytoremediation projects remediating soil pollution, for removing heavy metals such as lead from contaminated soil. [24]
Ragweeds are flowering plants in the genus Ambrosia in the aster family, Asteraceae. They are distributed in the tropical and subtropical regions of the Americas, especially North America, where the origin and center of diversity of the genus are in the southwestern United States and northwestern Mexico. Several species have been introduced to the Old World and some have naturalized and have become invasive species. Ragweed species are expected to continue spreading across Europe in the near future in response to ongoing climate change.
Xanthium (cocklebur) is a genus of flowering plants in the tribe Heliantheae within the family Asteraceae, native to the Americas and eastern Asia and some parts of south Asia.
Glebionis segetum is a species of flowering plant in the family Asteraceae, probably native only to the eastern Mediterranean region but now naturalized in western and northern Europe as well as China and parts of North America. Common names include corn marigold and corn daisy.
Chenopodium album is a fast-growing annual plant in the genus Chenopodium. Though cultivated in some regions, the plant is elsewhere considered a weed. Common names include lamb's quarters, melde, goosefoot, wild spinach and fat-hen, though the latter two are also applied to other species of the genus Chenopodium, for which reason it is often distinguished as white goosefoot. Chenopodium album is extensively cultivated and consumed in Northern India, and Nepal as a food crop known as bathua.
Amaranthus palmeri is a species of edible flowering plant in the amaranth genus. It has several common names, including carelessweed, dioecious amaranth, Palmer's amaranth, Palmer amaranth, and Palmer's pigweed.
Ambrosia dumosa, the burro-weed or white bursage, a North American species of plants in the family Asteraceae. It is a common constituent of the creosote-bush scrub community throughout the Mojave desert of California, Nevada, and Utah and the Sonoran Desert of Arizona and northwestern Mexico.
Parietaria judaica, with common names spreading pellitory or pellitory of the wall, is a species of herbaceous perennial plant in the family Urticaceae. The plant's pollen is highly allergenic. In Australia it is also known as asthma weed, due to the high incidence of allergy. It is unrelated to the herb pellitory. It is easily confused with the very similar species Parietaria officinalis.
Ambrosia trifida, the giant ragweed, is a species of flowering plant in the family Asteraceae. It is native to North America, where it is widespread in Canada, the United States, and northern Mexico.
Zygogramma is a large genus of leaf beetles in the subfamily Chrysomelinae, which includes approximately 100 species. 13 species occur north of Mexico.
Ambrosia psilostachya is a species of ragweed known by the common names Cuman ragweed and perennial ragweed, and western ragweed.
Ambrosia chenopodiifolia is a species of ragweed known by the common names San Diego bursage and San Diego bur ragweed. It is native to the Mexican states of Baja California and Baja California Sur, as well as to Orange and San Diego Counties it int US State of California. It is a member of the coastal sage scrub plant community.
Ambrosia confertiflora is a North American species of ragweed known by the common name weakleaf bur ragweed.
Artemisia biennis is a species of sagebrush known by the common name biennial wormwood. It is a common and widely distributed weed, so well established in many places that its region of origin is difficult to ascertain. This species is most likely native to northwestern North America and naturalized in Western Europe, and eastern and southern North America.
Epiblema strenuana, the stem-galling moth or ragweed borer, is a moth of the family Tortricidae. It is endemic to North America, but was introduced to Australia from Mexico to control the weeds of the family Asteraceae in 1982. It is occasionally misspelled as Epiblema strenuanum.
Ambrosia tomentosa, the skeletonleaf bur ragweed, silverleaf povertyweed, or skeleton-leaf bursage, is a North American species of perennial plants in the family Asteraceae.
Parthenium hysterophorus is a species of flowering plant in the family Asteraceae. It is native to the American tropics. Common names include Santa-Maria, Santa Maria feverfew, whitetop weed, and famine weed. In India, it is locally known as carrot grass, congress grass or gajar ghas or dhanura. It is a common invasive species in India, Australia, and parts of Africa.
Ophraella communa, common name ragweed leaf beetle, is a species of beetles belonging to the family Chrysomelidae.
Ambrosia cordifolia, called the Tucson bur ragweed, is a North American species of plant in the family Asteraceae. It is native to northern Mexico and the State of Arizona in the United States.
Zygogramma suturalis, commonly known as the ragweed leaf beetle, is a species of leaf beetle belonging to the genus Zygogramma. Native to North America, it has been introduced into Russia and China for the biological pest control of ragweed.
