Ragweed flowers make huge amounts of pollen. Pollen is transferred from one plant to another by wind and insects. Once a flower is pollinated, it forms fruit. The fruits of this plant are small and top-shaped, with small spines.

Common Ragweed blooms from July to October.

Ragweed is a good source of food and cover for wildlife. Eastern Cottontails eat the plants, and insects, such as grasshoppers, eat the leaves. Some animals which eat ragweed seeds include: Meadow Vole, Dark-eyed Junco, Brown-headed Cowbird, Northern Bobwhite, Purple Finch, Mourning Dove, American Goldfinch, and Red-bellied Woodpecker.

Ragweed often grows alongside, and in competition with, other weedy plants.

naturesongs.com

Relationships in Nature:

Animals Using as Food Source	Animals Using as Shelter	Associations With Other Plants	OTHER
Eastern Cottontail	Differential Grasshopper	Queen Anne's Lace	Honey Bee Po
Honey Bee	Chinese Mantid	Common Milkweed	Golden Northern Bumble Bee Po
Meadow Vole	Green Stinkbug	Devil's Beggar-tick
American Goldfinch	Eastern Cottontail	Switchgrass
Mourning Dove	Meadow Vole	Goldenrod
Brown-headed Cowbird	Northern Bobwhite	Pokeweed
Differential Grasshopper	Dark-eyed Junco	Smooth Crabgrass
Northern Bobwhite	AmericanToad	Lamb's Quarters
Red-bellied Woodpecker	Eastern Garter Snake	English Plantain
Purple Finch	Field Cricket	Red Clover
Dark-eyed Junco	Daring Jumping Spider	Sassafras
Green Stinkbug	Garden Centipede	Common Dandelion
Field Cricket	Isopod	Bull Thistle
Leopard Slug	Eastern Chipmunk	Bird-foot Violet
Beaver	Woodchuck	Chicory
Golden Northern Bumble Bee	Eastern Mole	Common Mullein
Tufted Titmouse	Five-lined Skink
Common Grackle	Leopard Slug
	Eastern Blood-sucking Conenose
	Chigger

Relationship to Humans:

Many people suffer from allergies to ragweed pollen. Because Common Ragweed flowers produce such large amounts of pollen which is distributed by wind, it is easy for people to inhale the tiny pollen grains.

Ragweed does good, too! It provides food and shelter for wildlife.

SCIENTIFIC CLASSIFICATION

KINGDOM Plant DIVISION Magnoliophyta CLASS Magnoliopsida ORDER Asterales FAMILY Asteraceae GENUS Ambrosia SPECIES Ambrosia artemisiifolia

QUICK LINKS

Organism Menu Home Glossary Student Activities Relationships Classification Info How to Use This Site Bibliography