Ambrosia psilostachya explained

Ambrosia psilostachya is a species of ragweed known by the common names Cuman ragweed and perennial ragweed, and western ragweed.

Distribution and habitat

The plant is widespread across much of North America (United States, Canada, and northern Mexico).[1] It is also naturalized in parts of Europe, Asia, Australia, and South America.[2] It is a common plant in many habitat types, including disturbed areas such as roadsides.[3] [4] [5] [6] [7]

Description

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.[3]

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.[3] 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.[8]

Ecology

Ambrosia psilostachya is a host plant for the caterpillars of Bucculatrix transversata,[9] Cosmopterix opulenta, Exaeretia gracilis, Gnorimoschema saphirinella,[10] Schinia sexplagiata; the beetles Zygogramma disrupta, Zygogramma suturalis;[11] and the grasshopper Spharagemon collare.[12]

Medicinal uses

This plant had a number of medicinal uses among several different Native American tribes, including the Cheyenne, Kumeyaay (Diegueno), and Kiowa people.[13]

Chemistry

Ambrosia psilostachya contains a group of phytochemicals called psilostachyins.[14]

External links

Notes and References

  1. http://bonap.net/MapGallery/County/Ambrosia%20psilostachya.png Biota of North America Program 2104 county distribution map
  2. http://plants.usda.gov/java/profile?symbol=AMPS United States Department of Agriculture Plants Profile
  3. http://www.efloras.org/florataxon.aspx?flora_id=1&taxon_id=242416043 Flora of North America Vol. 21 Page 18 Ambrosia psilostachya de Candolle in A. P. de Candolle and A. L. P. P. de Candolle
  4. http://www.efloras.org/florataxon.aspx?flora_id=2&taxon_id=242416043 Flora of China Vol. 20-21 Page 877 裸穗豚草 luo sui tun cao Ambrosia psilostachya Candolle
  5. http://www.tropicos.org/Name/2701652?tab=specimens Tropicos, specimen listing for Ambrosia psilostachya DC
  6. http://luirig.altervista.org/flora/taxa/index1.php?scientific-name=ambrosia+psilostachya Altervista Flora Italiana, Ambrosia con spighe rade, Ambrosia psilostachya DC.
  7. http://bie.ala.org.au/species/urn:lsid:biodiversity.org.au:apni.taxon:562128 Atlas of Living Australia, Ambrosia psilostachya DC. Perennial Ragweed
  8. Robert L. . Neill . Elroy L. . Rice . October 1971 . Possible Role of Ambrosia psilostachya on Pattern and Succession in Old-Fields . American Midland Naturalist . 86 . 2 . 344–57 . 2423628 . 10.2307/2423628.
  9. Book: American Entomological Society . Memoirs of the American Entomological Society . 1916 . Philadelphia, American Entomological Society . Smithsonian Libraries.
  10. Web site: Ambrosia . 2022-04-09 . www.nic.funet.fi.
  11. Clark . S. M. . LeDoux . D. G. . Seeno . T. S. . Riley . E. G. . Gilbert . A. J. . Sullivan . J. M. . 2005-03-01 . http://dx.doi.org/10.1603/0013-8746(2005)098[0243:hpolbs2.0.co;2 Host plants of leaf beetle species occurring in the United States and Canada (Coleoptera: Megalopodidae, Orsodacnidae, Chrysomelidae, excluding Bruchinae) ]. Annals of the Entomological Society of America . 98 . 2 . 243–244 . 10.1603/0013-8746(2005)098[0243:hpolbs]2.0.co;2 . 0013-8746.
  12. Web site: Pfadt . Robert . Spharagemon collare . 2022-04-08 . Grasshoppers of the Western U.S..
  13. http://herb.umd.umich.edu/herb/search.pl?searchstring=Ambrosia+psilostachya University of Michigan at Dearborn: Native American Ethnobotany of Ambrosia psilostachya
  14. Wan . Shiqiang . Yuan . Tong . Bowdish . Sarah . Wallace . Linda . Russell . Scott D. . Luo . Yiqi . 14548075 . 2002 . Response of an allergenic species, Ambrosia psilostachya (Asteraceae), to experimental warming and clipping: Implications for public health . American Journal of Botany . 89 . 11 . 1843–6 . 21665612 . 10.3732/ajb.89.11.1843.

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