Npn-plant

cuman ragweed (Ambrosia psilostachya)

  • This is part of Allergy Agents
  • When to observe: Year-round
  • What to observe: Flowers, Fruits, and Leaves
  • Where to observe:
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Cuman ragweed is a USA-NPN calibration plant species. Calibration species have broad distributions and are ecologically or economically important. The NPN integrates observations on calibration species to get "the big picture" of plant responses to climate across the nation. In addition, this species is an allergen. Observations on its phenology will provide valuable information to benefit people with allergies and the public health community.
Cuman ragweed is an erect, annual or perennial, herbaceous plant with little branching. It grows between 0.75 and 3.5 feet tall, but occasionally up to 6 feet tall. Small, inconspicuous male and female flowers occur separately, along stalks, on the same plant, and pollination occurs by wind. Cuman ragweed grows in grasslands, savannas, woodlands, and riparian areas, and also in disturbed and waste areas, travel corridors, and dry fields. It typically occurs on dry, sandy soils.
You should observe...
Here are the phenophases you should observe about this plant.
Leaves Initial growth

New growth of the plant is visible, either from above-ground buds with green tips, or new green or white shoots breaking through the soil surface. Growth is considered "initial" on each bud or shoot until the first leaf has fully unfolded.
Leaves

In at least one location on the plant, a fully unfolded leaf is visible. For seedlings, consider only true leaves and do not count the cotyledons (one or two small, round leaves) that are found on the stem almost immediately after the seedling emerges.
Flowers Flowers

One or more fresh flowers or flower heads (inflorescences) are visible on the plant. Flower heads include many small flowers that usually do not open all at once. Do not include wilted or dried flowers that remain on the plant, or heads whose flowers have all wilted or dried.
Open flowers

One or more open fresh flowers are visible on the plant. Flowers are considered "open" when the reproductive parts (male stamens or female pistils) are visible between unfolded or open flower parts. Do not include wilted or dried flowers that remain on the plant.

Pollen release

One or more flowers on the plant release pollen when gently shaken or blown.
Fruits Fruits

One or more fresh fruits are visible on the plant.
Ripe fruits

One or more ripe fruits are visible on the plant.

Recent fruit drop

One or more fresh mature fruits or seeds have dropped or been removed from the plant since your last visit. Do not include obviously immature fruits that have dropped before ripening, such as in a heavy rain or wind.
If drought seems to be the cause of leaf senescence for a plant, please make a comment about it for that observation.
Several American Indian tribes used curman ragweed medicinally, in teas for various purposes. The Kiowa used this plant rolled with different sages for use in sweathouses. Rodents, including the Thirteen-Lined Ground Squirrel and Prairie Voleeat, eat the seeds. Mammalian herbivores eat the bitter foliage to a limited extent. Because the caterpillars of various moths feed on its foliage, and many songbirds and upland gamebirds eat its seeds throughout the winter, this plant has a high ecological value. Western ragweed may have allelopathic or other inhibitory effects on other pioneer plant species.

Gardens with this plant

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