Ambrosia trifida - Ragweed

Ambrosia trifida, benefits?!? Let's look at this plant a little closer instead of just seeing our allergies flare up. Who is this enormous plant? What roles does it play?

It's latin name gives us an idea of it's identity: Ambrosia - food of the gods

trifida, tri or three pronged (leaf shape)

This is indeed giant ragweed and it is native to North America - I am looking up to get this picture, it truly can get to be a giant plant.

The pollen is ending, you can still see some yellow that will be swept away with the wind, or washed away in a rain. When you count on the weather for pollination, you need to produce so much more pollen....it's ragweed's survival strategy.

Its seeds are forming at the base.

I have seen chickadees and chipmunks climbing Ambrosia trifida stalks that stand in the snow as a winter food source. I have also noted little caches of these seeds stored up for the winter. I try to leave some close enough to watch out the window in the winter, the birds flitting from one stalk to the next searching for seeds.

At least we can know we are feeding the birds when we sniffle.

Melissa