Allergy season is nothing to sneeze at
By By Steve Strong / area horticulture extension agent
Sept.4, 2002
Millions of Americans each fall suffer seasonal allergies that stem from a variety of grass and broadleaf weed pollens.
Allergy-causing plants are often difficult to identify and control, since many of them are roadside ditch survivors that thrive alongside one another with little or no care.
Goldenrod is probably the easiest to spot because of its tall showy spikes of golden-yellow blooms starting in late summer, and it is often mistakenly blamed as a major source of hay fever problems because of its bloom season.
Ragweed (both the common short and giant type) also blooms at the same time, however, and is actually the guilty culprit responsible for most allergy attacks.
Ragweed is not so easy to identify for the average allergy sufferer, since it hides among goldenrod and other showy fence row weeds, with inconspicuous green blooms on erect spikes that begin to nod as the pollen matures.
The common or short ragweed may grow from 1 to 5 feet in height, and normally has an alternating leaf arrangement (sometimes opposite) that resembles the ornamental perennial plant known as Artemisia (wormwood).
Ironically, ragweed is also called "Ambrosia" due to its botanical name Ambrosia artemisiifolia, though it's anything but sweet and dessert-like. In fact, the genus Ambrosia is reported to cause as much as 90 percent of all pollen-related allergies in the United States, while the innocent goldenrod takes the brunt of the blame.
Giant ragweed, or Ambrosia trifida, may be a little easier to identify by its height of 6 to 15 feet with opposite three-lobed leaves on green stalks. It may remind a gardener of okra due to the deeply dissected leaves with coarse hairy stems that are rough to the touch.
To add another twinge of irony to allergy sufferers, both the giant and common ragweed species are harvested commercially for their pharmaceutical value in allergy medications. Possibly the drug makers are following the same theory behind using poisonous snake venom in the formation of anti-venom snakebite remedies.
Other reported medicinal uses of ragweed include Native Americans rubbing the leaves on insect bites, and making teas to reduce nausea and abdominal cramps. They even prescribed chewing the roots to alleviate night terrors (nightmares).
This article is not meant to suggest that everyone should cultivate ragweed and incorporate it into their daily diets, but to help folks become more aware that not all bad plants are bad for you especially in the case of Sweet Goldenrod, which can become a well-behaved perennial in any border wildflower garden, providing an anise or tarragon-like aroma from the crushed foliage.
Goldenrod has also been used over the years as a homeopathic remedy for digestive problems and fevers associated with colds and flu. I realize that information is not much consolation for the allergy-stricken who may have to resort to a range of prescription medications to fend off the rampant pollen production now occurring in every vacant lot and ditch bank.
Still, it just goes to show you that there is more than meets the eye, or in this case, the nose, when it comes to allergy season. The more you nose about plants, the better you are likely to feel about them, itchy watery eyes and all.
