Loading AI tools
Species of flowering plant in the daisy family Asteraceae From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Ambrosia psilostachya is a species of ragweed known by the common names Cuman ragweed and perennial ragweed,[3] and western ragweed.
| Ambrosia psilostachya | |
|---|---|
| |
Scientific classification  | |
| Kingdom: | Plantae |
| Clade: | Tracheophytes |
| Clade: | Angiosperms |
| Clade: | Eudicots |
| Clade: | Asterids |
| Order: | Asterales |
| Family: | Asteraceae |
| Genus: | Ambrosia |
| Species: | A. psilostachya |
| Binomial name | |
| Ambrosia psilostachya | |
| Synonyms[1] | |
| |
The plant is widespread across much of North America (United States, Canada, and northern Mexico).[4] It is also naturalized in parts of Europe, Asia, Australia, and South America.[5] It is a common plant in many habitat types, including disturbed areas such as roadsides.[6][7][8][9][10]
Ambrosia psilostachya is an erect perennial herb growing a slender, branching, straw-colored stem to a maximum height near two meters, but more often remaining under one meter tall. Leaves are up to 12 centimeters long and vary in shape from lance-shaped to nearly oval, and they are divided into many narrow, pointed lobes. The stem and leaves are hairy.[6]
The top of the stem is occupied by an inflorescence which is usually a spike. The species is monoecious, and the inflorescence is composed of staminate (male) flower heads with the pistillate heads located below and in the axils of leaves.[6] This bloom period is from June through November.
The pistillate heads yield fruits which are achenes located within oval-shaped greenish-brown burs about half a centimeter long. The burs are hairy and sometimes spiny. The plant reproduces by seed and by sprouting up from a creeping rhizome-like root system.[11]
Ambrosia psilostachya is a host plant for the caterpillars of Bucculatrix transversata,[12] Cosmopterix opulenta, Exaeretia gracilis, Gnorimoschema saphirinella,[13] Schinia sexplagiata; the beetles Calligrapha disrupta, Calligrapha suturalis;[14] and the grasshopper Spharagemon collare.[15]
This plant had a number of medicinal uses among several different Native American tribes, including the Cheyenne, Kumeyaay (Diegueno), and Kiowa people.[16]
Ambrosia psilostachya contains a group of phytochemicals called psilostachyins.[17]
Seamless Wikipedia browsing. On steroids.
Every time you click a link to Wikipedia, Wiktionary or Wikiquote in your browser's search results, it will show the modern Wikiwand interface.
Wikiwand extension is a five stars, simple, with minimum permission required to keep your browsing private, safe and transparent.
