All About Ragweed; the Good and the Bad
Do you wake up with red, itchy eyes
these days? Are you in a constant state of sniffles and sneezes? Welcome
to ragweed season! (Question of mine... Why (and what) is plant in middle of photo??)
As
autumn approaches, a number of plants get blamed for the symptoms
caused by ragweed. The plant with the worst reputation and least guilt
is usually goldenrod. Don't blame it for your woes, goldenrod's pollen
isn't airborne. It is the sneaky ragweed that creeps into everything and
starts the misery.
Most ragweeds are in the Ambrosia genus and the two that cause the most trouble in my southeastern US area are Ambrosia artemisiifolia, common ragweed and Ambrosia trifida,
great ragweed. They start to bloom in late July/early August and they
wreck havoc among allergy sufferers for months. However, in the US
alone, there are at least 17 different species of ragweed, so chances
are, no matter where you live, there's a special ragweed growing just
for you.
For
some reason, the human body has an extreme dislike for ragweed pollen.
At the first sniff, the body starts producing antibodies, which makes
your system flood histamines into the bloodstream. Histamines cause the
fearsome allergy symptoms that hay fever suffers know and dread. That's
why the recommended treatments for allergies are called
anti-histamines...they block histamine-producing biochemical reactions
that your body activates when allergies go into overload. It is an
ongoing few months of misery until frost kills the offending plants.
Many gardeners work hard to eliminate
ragweed plants from their property edges and surrounding areas. It is a
weed that prefers disturbed areas and often grows in great masses in
abandoned lots and at the borders of agricultural areas. This is all
well and good, however ragweed pollen is so light and fluffy that it can
travel great distances. It has been measured as far as 2 miles up into
the atmosphere and as far away as 400 miles off the coast in the ocean,
so there is no running away from ragweed. Many gardeners resort to
chemical control, however this is such a tough and hardy weed that many
commercial herbicides have little or no effect on it. They usually
present more of a threat to the environment than to the ragweed.
To
minimize the effects of the pollen, gardeners should remember to shower
as soon as they finish gardening activities and even if they haven't
been active outdoors, shower before turning into bed for the night. You
don't want to sleep in pollen-crusted sheets...ewwww! Also, launder all
gardening clothes immediately and don't shake them in the house to
prevent the spread of the lightweight pollen.
Young ragweed plants should be eliminated
as soon as they sprout. They grow very quickly into impressive weeds
and the woody stems are hard to chop at that point. So get them while
they are babies. Your back will thank you.
For
all of its unfriendly habits, ragweed is surprisingly edible. Yes, you
can eat ragweed and it is actually good for you. There's evidence that
Native Americans actually planted it and harvested the seeds. The seeds
have an amazing percentage of crude protein (47%) and rivals corn, wheat
and soybean in usable calories. This would have been an important food
source for both human and wildlife during long winters. A nutritious oil
was also produced by crushing the seeds, boiling them in water and
skimming the resulting oil from the top. Fats are an important part of
any diet and early peoples had scant resources for obtaining them.
While we despise it and seek to destroy
it, ragweed was once an important part of early foodways, so as you're
chopping it back, remember that it was once a useful plant and may be
again in the future if disaster strikes.
Above is image of older plant and to get idea of general sizes and months seen
