Fighting ragweed (ragweed)

Mugwort (also called ragweed, ragweed, wild hemp or by its English name ragweed) originates from the north-eastern United States and is increasingly spreading in Europe.

The plant has now also been discovered in some areas of Germany. The inconspicuous plant can cause severe hay fever and in some cases asthma through inhalation of the pollen or skin contact.

The annual plant is a late bloomer whose flowering period can last from July to October. It develops mainly in open areas in the field, along roadsides and in gardens, here especially at bird feeding sites from last winter, due to contaminated bird feed, but also in rubble pits and on construction sites.

The ragweed has a growth height of 30 - 150 cm, has a taproot and green, strongly incised leaves on both sides. The leaves are hairy with whitish veins and their outline is triangular to oval. There is no odor when the leaves are rubbed. The stem is white-reddish, hairy and very branched. The plant bears male as well as female flowers, the male ones form a spike-like raceme, which sits at the end of the branches with 5 - 20 tubular yellow-green flowers each in a hemispherical sheath. The female flowers are greenish and sit below the male flowers, with inverted conical sheaths. It is often confused with common mugwort, Verlot's mugwort, wormwood, amaranth, goosefoot, and dog chamomile.