Ambrosia Species, Buffaloweed, Giant Ragweed, Great Ragweed, Horseweed, Palmate Ragweed

This is a very common native plant in fields of the Midwestern and Eastern US that is considered by many as a noxious weed because its po...Read Morellen causes so much allergy among so many people in late summer to mid-autumn. (It is not any Goldenrod that does this as its heavy pollen is spread by bees and other pollinators.) I am one who gets some allergy from this and Common Ragweed. It has a certain non-flashy beauty when growing in groups, not individual plants so much. It is native and has a place in the US, but I don't want it to be too common.

It's a native plant (native to the U.S. anyway), so that's a positive. Other than that, I can't see that it has that much going for it. T...Read Morehe leaves and seeds aren't particularly liked by wildlife, so I certainly wouldn't add this to the wildlife garden. And it's an allergy sufferer's worst nightmare.
This huge plant is probably an allergy sufferer's worst nightmare.

From Illinoiswildlifeinfo.com:
"It has some ecological value to various moths, but otherwise is less important than Ambrosia artemesiifolia (Common Ragweed). Giant Ragweed can be distinguished from other Ambrosia spp. (Ragweeds) by its palmately lobed leaves; other Ragweeds have leaves that are pinnatifid or bipinnatifid. The name of this genus of plants refers to ambrosia, "the food of the gods" in antiquity. This seems like a strange name for a group of unattractive plants, unless it refers to the value of the seeds of certain species from a bird's point of view."
http://www.illinoiswildflowers.info/weeds/plants/giant_ragwe...

Giant ragweed are more oftenly seen in gardens than common ragweed but in other locations such as roadside common ragweed is far the most...Read More often. It is easily identify by its strongly three lobed leaves that look kind like sassafras but is not woody. It is also common only in certain area like when construction workers clear out all the vegetation on the roadside for a certain period of years before grasses and other agressive species reduce the numbers - it will persists in certain locations. Giant ragweed is easy to control - it is the rain of seeds that comes in from nearby locations that is the main headache for this weed.

Giant ragweed came up in my flower bed one year,I didn't know what it was so I let it grow. It was GIANT, well over my head. I sent pictu...Read Moreres to the county agent. He told me what it was and I dug it out and got rid of it. It never returned. I live in NW PA, so it definitely grows here. My daughter is allergic to ragweed.