Ambrosia psilostachya

Ambrosia psilostachya
Conservation status
	; Secure (NatureServe)
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; DC.
Synonyms
	Ambrosia californica Rydb.; Ambrosia coronopifolia Torr. & A.Gray; Ambrosia hispida Torr.; Ambrosia lindheimeriana Scheele; Ambrosia peruviana DC. 1836 not All. 1773 nor Willd. 1805; Ambrosia rugelii Rydb.;

Ambrosia psilostachya is a species of ragweed known by the common names Cuman ragweed and perennial ragweed,^[3] and western ragweed.

Distribution and habitat

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]

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.^[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]

Ecology

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]

Medicinal uses

This plant had a number of medicinal uses among several different Native American tribes, including the Cheyenne, Kumeyaay (Diegueno), and Kiowa people.^[16]

Chemistry

Ambrosia psilostachya contains a group of phytochemicals called psilostachyins.^[17]

References

^ The International Plant Names Index
^ The Plant List Ambrosia psilostachya DC.
^ BSBI List 2007 (xls). Botanical Society of Britain and Ireland. Archived from the original (xls) on 2015-06-26. Retrieved 2014-10-17.
^ Biota of North America Program 2104 county distribution map
^ United States Department of Agriculture Plants Profile . accessed 2.14.2013
^ ^a ^b ^c Flora of North America Vol. 21 Page 18 Ambrosia psilostachya de Candolle in A. P. de Candolle and A. L. P. P. de Candolle
^ Flora of China Vol. 20-21 Page 877 裸穗豚草 luo sui tun cao Ambrosia psilostachya Candolle
^ Tropicos, specimen listing for Ambrosia psilostachya DC
^ Altervista Flora Italiana, Ambrosia con spighe rade, Ambrosia psilostachya DC. includes photos and European distribution map
^ Atlas of Living Australia, Ambrosia psilostachya DC. Perennial Ragweed
^ Neill, Robert L.; Rice, Elroy L. (October 1971). "Possible Role of Ambrosia psilostachya on Pattern and Succession in Old-Fields". American Midland Naturalist. 86 (2): 344–57. doi:10.2307/2423628. JSTOR 2423628.
^ American Entomological Society (1916). Memoirs of the American Entomological Society. Smithsonian Libraries. Philadelphia, American Entomological Society.
^ "Ambrosia". www.nic.funet.fi. Retrieved 2022-04-09.
^ Clark, S. M.; LeDoux, D. G.; Seeno, T. S.; Riley, E. G.; Gilbert, A. J.; Sullivan, J. M. (2005-03-01). "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. doi:10.1603/0013-8746(2005)098[0243:hpolbs]2.0.co;2. ISSN 0013-8746.
^ Pfadt, Robert. "Spharagemon collare". Grasshoppers of the Western U.S. Retrieved 2022-04-08.
^ University of Michigan at Dearborn: Native American Ethnobotany of Ambrosia psilostachya . accessed 2.14.2013
^ Wan, Shiqiang; Yuan, Tong; Bowdish, Sarah; Wallace, Linda; Russell, Scott D.; Luo, Yiqi (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. doi:10.3732/ajb.89.11.1843. PMID 21665612. S2CID 14548075.

External links

[1] The International Plant Names Index

[2] The Plant List Ambrosia psilostachya DC.

[BSBI07-3] BSBI List 2007 (xls). Botanical Society of Britain and Ireland. Archived from the original (xls) on 2015-06-26. Retrieved 2014-10-17.

[4] Biota of North America Program 2104 county distribution map

[5] United States Department of Agriculture Plants Profile . accessed 2.14.2013

[z-6] Flora of North America Vol. 21 Page 18 Ambrosia psilostachya de Candolle in A. P. de Candolle and A. L. P. P. de Candolle

[7] Flora of China Vol. 20-21 Page 877 裸穗豚草 luo sui tun cao Ambrosia psilostachya Candolle

[8] Tropicos, specimen listing for Ambrosia psilostachya DC

[9] Altervista Flora Italiana, Ambrosia con spighe rade, Ambrosia psilostachya DC. includes photos and European distribution map

[10] Atlas of Living Australia, Ambrosia psilostachya DC. Perennial Ragweed

[11] Neill, Robert L.; Rice, Elroy L. (October 1971). "Possible Role of Ambrosia psilostachya on Pattern and Succession in Old-Fields". American Midland Naturalist. 86 (2): 344–57. doi:10.2307/2423628. JSTOR 2423628.

[12] American Entomological Society (1916). Memoirs of the American Entomological Society. Smithsonian Libraries. Philadelphia, American Entomological Society.

[13] "Ambrosia". www.nic.funet.fi. Retrieved 2022-04-09.

[14] Clark, S. M.; LeDoux, D. G.; Seeno, T. S.; Riley, E. G.; Gilbert, A. J.; Sullivan, J. M. (2005-03-01). "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. doi:10.1603/0013-8746(2005)098[0243:hpolbs]2.0.co;2. ISSN 0013-8746.

[15] Pfadt, Robert. "Spharagemon collare". Grasshoppers of the Western U.S. Retrieved 2022-04-08.

[16] University of Michigan at Dearborn: Native American Ethnobotany of Ambrosia psilostachya . accessed 2.14.2013

[17] Wan, Shiqiang; Yuan, Tong; Bowdish, Sarah; Wallace, Linda; Russell, Scott D.; Luo, Yiqi (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. doi:10.3732/ajb.89.11.1843. PMID 21665612. S2CID 14548075.

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