Ambrosia is a herb that terrifies all allergy sufferers. After all, when it blooms, particles of its pollen fall into the air, causing a runny nose, swelling, and sometimes choking. It’s difficult to hide from it, and people suffering from allergies have no choice but to spend less time in the air and take medications that suppress the symptoms. Unfortunately, in almost all wastelands, in fields, and sometimes just in the yards of private and even multi-storey buildings, ragweed is growing. The flowering period of this herb usually falls at the end of summer. It is at this time that people try to spend the maximum amount of time in nature, in order to enjoy its beauties to the fullest.
Ambrosia: what it is and where it grows
Initially, this wild herb of the Astro family was distributed only on the American continent. Due to the development of trade and other international relations, it was brought to Europe. Now this quarantine grass grows almost everywhere, excluding only the extreme south and north of the planet.
Troubles she delivers not only to allergy sufferers, but also to farmers. Quite often, the main weed in the fields is ragweed, what it is, any farmer who grows cereals or vegetables on his own land knows. In addition, if particles of pollen, and especially seeds of this grass on any cargo, are detected, its international delivery will be instantly canceled. Similar actions occur only in the presence of pathogenic bacteria or other dangerous parasites.
Use in medicine
Despite the enormous damage caused to humans by this plant, he also has certain positive qualities. In particular, ragweed is used in the composition of many folk remedies used for hypertension to combat parasites and some other ailments. What is it in terms of raw materials for drugs, classical pharmacology is unknown. However, there are many examples of the successful use of folk remedies based on leaves, seeds, and even pollen of a plant.
Types of ragweed
It turns out that most species of this plant are quite harmless (there are about 40 in total). They deliver troubles only as a weed, otherwise they do not pay attention to them. Allergy is caused by only a few types of grass - ragweed, tripartite and holometelic. It is their pollen that makes millions sob every year around the world. Entire raids of employees of the sanitary-epidemiological, municipal and other services are devoted to their destruction. It is from them that summer residents and farmers, janitors and just residents of high-rise buildings are trying with all their might to get rid of. And specifically, these types of plants most often mean when they use the word "ragweed". Almost everyone who suffers from it knows what this is and what the main causative agent of hay fever looks like. Those who, fortunately, are deprived of this disease, we can say that ragweed is very similar to wormwood.
How to deal with this pest
Unfortunately, of all the known methods of weed control known to mankind, only mechanical ones act on this. That is, plants must be mowed many times, avoiding the appearance of inflorescences and further propagation, or rooting out still young shoots. What is usually done by employees of sanitary and epidemiological stations, public utilities, as well as farmers and summer residents.
