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Asteraceae FAMILY

Ambrosia artemisiifolia

Ambrosia artemisiifolia

Edibility
2/5
Medicinal
3/5

Safety & Hazards

The pollen of this plant is a major cause of hayfever in N. America[1, 2]. Ingesting or touching the plant can cause allergic reactions in some people[2].

Cultivation Details

HabitAnnual
Growth—

Prefers a warm position in full sun[3]. Grows best in a humus-rich, nutrient rich, slightly acidic soil[3]. Tolerant of dry soils[3]. Some plants produce mainly sterile heads[4]. Hybrids between Ambrosia artemisiifolia and Ambrosia psilostachya have been called Ambrosia × intergradiens W. H. Wagner. The name Ambrosia × helenae Rouleau applies to hybrids between Ambrosia artemisiifolia and Ambrosia trifida[5].

Propagation

Seed - in nature the seed ripens in the autumn and then enters a dormancy period that requires a cold stratification in order to germinate. Germination occurs in the spring with only a portion of the seed bank germinating while the rest of the seeds enter a secondary dormancy period. The secondary dormancy of the seed makes this species well adapted at surviving in continuously disturbed sites. Seeds have been known to remain viable after 20 years of burial with 85% germination rate[3]. Cite as: Temperate Plants Database, Ken Fern. temperate.theferns.info. 2026-02-20. <temperate.theferns.info/plant/Ambrosia+artemisiifolia>

Pollinators

Wind

References

  1. [1]The History and Folklore of North American Wild Flowers. — Coffey. T. · Facts on File. · 1993 · ISBN 0-8160-2624-6 ↩︎A nice read, lots of information on plant uses.
  2. [2]A Field Guide to Medicinal Plants. Eastern and Central N. America. — Foster. S. & Duke. J. A. · Houghton Mifflin Co. · 1990 · ISBN 0395467225 ↩︎A concise book dealing with almost 500 species. A line drawing of each plant is included plus colour photographs of about 100 species. Very good as a field guide, it only gives brief details about the plants medicinal properties.
  3. [3]Global Invasive Species Database — http://www.issg.org/database/welcome/ ↩︎Very detailed information on almost 400 species (with more being added) of plants that have become weeds in areas outside their native range.
  4. [4]Vascular Plants of the Pacific Northwest. — Hitchcock. C. L. · University of Washington Press · 1955 · ISBN - ↩︎A standard flora for Western N. America with lots of information on habitat etc. Five large volumes, it is not for the casual reader.
  5. [5]Flora of N. America — http://flora.huh.harvard.edu/fna/ ↩︎An on-line version of the flora with an excellent description of the plant including a brief mention of plant uses.
  6. [6]A Dictionary of Plants Used by Man. — Usher. G. · Constable · 1974 · ISBN 0094579202 ↩︎Forget the sexist title, this is one of the best books on the subject. Lists a very extensive range of useful plants from around the world with very brief details of the uses. Not for the casual reader.
  7. [7]New South Wales Government; Pest and Weeds Management — http://weeds.dpi.nsw.gov.au/ ↩︎A website with very well-produced factsheets on over 300 noxious and environmental weeds of New South Wales
  8. [8]An Illustrated Flora of the Northern United States and Canada — Britton. N. L. Brown. A. · Dover Publications. New York. · 1970 · ISBN 0-486-22642-5 ↩︎Reprint of a 1913 Flora, but still a very useful book.
  9. [9]Cornucopia - A Source Book of Edible Plants. — Facciola. S. · Kampong Publications · 1990 · ISBN 0-9628087-0-9 ↩︎Excellent. Contains a very wide range of conventional and unconventional food plants (including tropical) and where they can be obtained (mainly N. American nurseries but also research institutes and a lot of other nurseries from around the world.
  10. [10]Native American Ethnobotany — Moerman. D. · Timber Press. Oregon. · 1998 · ISBN 0-88192-453-9 ↩︎Very comprehensive but terse guide to the native uses of plants. Excellent bibliography, fully referenced to each plant, giving a pathway to further information. Not for the casual reader.