Common ragweed, or ambrosia, as it is known here (ambrosia artemisiifolia ) is a member of the sunflower family. Curious why such a bothersome plant would be named for the food of the gods, I found out that the generic name is actually derived from the Greek'ambrotos' (άμβροτος), "immortal". In ragweed's case, this refers to its tenaciousness, which makes it hard to rid an area of these invasive weeds. Sure enough, this tall ambrosia stalk is growing in an urban area in New Belgrade. There used to be fields of it on the other side of the street you see here, but now most of that land has been developed into office space, much to the relief of local allergy sufferers. You can probably guess I'm not allergic to it, since I managed to get this close for the photo!Saturday, May 2, 2009
Ah-CHOO!
Common ragweed, or ambrosia, as it is known here (ambrosia artemisiifolia ) is a member of the sunflower family. Curious why such a bothersome plant would be named for the food of the gods, I found out that the generic name is actually derived from the Greek'ambrotos' (άμβροτος), "immortal". In ragweed's case, this refers to its tenaciousness, which makes it hard to rid an area of these invasive weeds. Sure enough, this tall ambrosia stalk is growing in an urban area in New Belgrade. There used to be fields of it on the other side of the street you see here, but now most of that land has been developed into office space, much to the relief of local allergy sufferers. You can probably guess I'm not allergic to it, since I managed to get this close for the photo!
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such a lot of worry about swine flu right now, that i got a fright when i saw the title of your post...
In Santiago, we have a big problem with Oriental planes. They were put in lots of parks around Santiago because "they looked good". However, most people here are allergic to them (I'm part of them), and some people even want to tear them down.
Ode to Ragweed by BIbi. GOod for you for seeing the beauty in the weeds!
V
There is a little sign in our Botanical Garden which reads: "Weeds are flowers in disguise."
Facsinating & quite the nicest view of a ragweed I've yet to see.
Interestingly enough I'm partial to the weed Dandilion ... and also my favorite (flower in my opinion) the California Poppy. So glad I've never suffered from asthma or allergies. Bless you -:)
I would be sneezing! I'm alergic to everything! (sniff.. sniff..)
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