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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[ 207 Title The History and Folklore of North American Wild Flowers. Publication Author Coffey. T. Publisher Facts on File. Year 1993 ISBN 0-8160-2624-6 Description A nice read, lots of information on plant uses. , 222 Title A Field Guide to Medicinal Plants. Eastern and Central N. America. Publication Author Foster. S. & Duke. J. A. Publisher Houghton Mifflin Co. Year 1990 ISBN 0395467225 Description 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. ]. Ingesting or touching the plant can cause allergic reactions in some people[ 222 Title A Field Guide to Medicinal Plants. Eastern and Central N. America. Publication Author Foster. S. & Duke. J. A. Publisher Houghton Mifflin Co. Year 1990 ISBN 0395467225 Description 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. ].

Botanical Description

Ambrosia artemisiifolia is an erect, much-branched annual plant usually growing 10 - 60cm tall, exceptionally to 150cm or even more[ 270 Title Flora of N. America Publication Author Website http://flora.huh.harvard.edu/fna/ Publisher Year 0 ISBN Description An on-line version of the flora with an excellent description of the plant including a brief mention of plant uses. , 413 Title Global Invasive Species Database Publication Author Website http://www.issg.org/database/welcome/ Publisher Year 0 ISBN Description Very detailed information on almost 400 species (with more being added) of plants that have become weeds in areas outside their native range. ]. The plant is harvested from the wild for local use as a medicine - the plant is sometimes also cultivated for medicinal use[ 413 Title Global Invasive Species Database Publication Author Website http://www.issg.org/database/welcome/ Publisher Year 0 ISBN Description Very detailed information on almost 400 species (with more being added) of plants that have become weeds in areas outside their native range. ].. A good quality oil can be obtained from the seeds - the plant has been suggested for commercial cultivation as a source of this oil[ 61 Title A Dictionary of Plants Used by Man. Publication Author Usher. G. Publisher Constable Year 1974 ISBN 0094579202 Description 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. ]. The plant establishes easily and in high abundance in human impacted and disturbed areas, invading roadsides, wastelands and poor or overgrazed pastures. It is considered an invasive species in Europe, parts of Asia and Australia, although it is not an extremely competitively aggressive species and is mainly considered a noxious weed that interferes with other cultivated crops. The main impact of this plant is the copious amount of pollen produced from male flowers that are allergens to sensitive people, compounding health problems like rhinitis, oculorhinitis, asthma and causing skin irritations[ 413 Title Global Invasive Species Database Publication Author Website http://www.issg.org/database/welcome/ Publisher Year 0 ISBN Description Very detailed information on almost 400 species (with more being added) of plants that have become weeds in areas outside their native range. , 1009 Title New South Wales Government; Pest and Weeds Management Publication Author Website http://weeds.dpi.nsw.gov.au/ Publisher Year 0 ISBN Description A website with very well-produced factsheets on over 300 noxious and environmental weeds of New South Wales ].

Habitat & Origin

Origintemperate
Native RangeN. America - Alaska to Labrador, south to California and Florida.
HabitatWaste places in Western N. America[ 60 Title Vascular Plants of the Pacific Northwest. Publication Author Hitchcock. C. L. Publisher University of Washington Press Year 1955 ISBN - Description A standard flora for Western N. America with lots of information on habitat etc. Five large volumes, it is not for the casual reader. ]. Found in dry soils, it can become a pernicious weed in cultivated soils[ 235 Title An Illustrated Flora of the Northern United States and Canada Publication Author Britton. N. L. Brown. A. Publisher Dover Publications. New York. Year 1970 ISBN 0-486-22642-5 Description Reprint of a 1913 Flora, but still a very useful book. ]. Wet to dry soils, disturbed sites; at elevations from sea level to 1,000 metres or more[ 270 Title Flora of N. America Publication Author Website http://flora.huh.harvard.edu/fna/ Publisher Year 0 ISBN Description An on-line version of the flora with an excellent description of the plant including a brief mention of plant uses. ].