Annual Ragweed

Annual Ragweed

Ambrosia artemisiifolia

Annual Ragweed is perhaps the most common cause of hay fever in the U.S.  They're sneaky though ... they bloom at the same time as several species of Goldenrod so that the Goldenrod gets the blame and they quietly sit back to not draw attention to themselves.

So, what's with the generic name; Ambrosia?  According to Greek mythology, ambrosia is the nectar of the gods.  What do Ragweed's have to do with that?



Note that the leaf is twice divided

The flowerheads of Annual Ragweed are similar to Great Ragweed

Closeup of flowerhead