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// Workers AI · dad joke modeWhat did Ambrosia hispida say? I'm a little prickly.

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Ambrosia hispida
Coastal ragweed stems growing across beach sand
Secure
Secure (NatureServe)[1]
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Embryophytes
Clade: Tracheophytes
Clade: Angiosperms
Clade: Eudicots
Clade: Asterids
Order: Asterales
Family: Asteraceae
Tribe: Heliantheae
Genus: Ambrosia
Species:
A. hispida
Binomial name
Ambrosia hispida
Synonyms[2]
  • Ambrosia crithmifolia DC.
  • Ambrosia maritima Ferrero ex DC.

Ambrosia hispida, the coastal ragweed, is a species of perennial plant native to the neotropics. It belongs to the family Asteraceae.[2]

Description

[edit]

Common features of coastal ragweed:[3][4]

  • Stems lie flat on the ground or spread atop other vegetation and may grow longer than 80 cm (31 in).
  • Leaves mostly occur in pairs opposite one another, with petioles up to 2.5 cm (1 in) long. Blades usually are widest below their middles and are twice- or three-times divided into slender lobes covered with tiny, stiff, straight hairs (trichomes).
  • As with all ragweed species, the florets are unisexual and gathered into small heads with involucral bracts forming structures looking like cup-shaped calyces. In this species 5 to up to 20 or more male florets with whitish or purplish corollas shaped more or less like tiny funnels form heads up to 2 mm (1⁄8 in) across, and occupy the upper part of the slender, raceme-type inflorescence. Female florets without corollas cluster below the male ones.
  • One-seeded, cypsela-type fruits are hard, somewhat pear-shaped, black burs up to 2 mm (1⁄8 in) long with, on the upper part, 0-5 spines or tubercles up to about 0.5 mm (1⁄32 in) long and with straight tips.

Distribution

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Coastal ragweed occurs in the US state of Florida, in Mexico's Yucatan Peninsula and the state of Veracruz, as well as Belize, Honduras, islands of the Caribbean, and Guyana in South America.[5][2]

Habitat

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In Florida, coastal ragweed inhabits coastal beaches and strand.[3] In the Bahamas, it also occurs among dunes.[6] In Mexico's Yucatan Peninsula it is found in mangrove forest and regularly flooded forests of other types.[7]

Human uses

[edit]

In landscaping and gardening

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As an ornamental plant it is noted for its conspicuous foliage, and recommended for use as a ground cover in sunny, dry sites, where it spreads by rooting at stem nodes. However, it does poorly if over watered, plus its wind-borne pollen causes allergic reactions for many people.[8]

In traditional medicine

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In Mexico's Yucatan Peninsula, coastal ragweed, known in Maya as muuch' kook, is mashed in alcohol to produce an extract to treat rheumatism and to increase perspiration. A small cup of an infusion of it taken every night lowers blood pressure and fever.[9] In the Bahamas, coastal ragweed, known as Sweet Bay and other names, is used to treat colds and flu, to deal with gastrointestinal issues ranging from increasing appetite to diarrhea and vomiting, as well as for skin problems such as blisters and general skin irritation.[6] In Dominica, West Indies, it is used commonly to treat intestinal worms.[10]

Taxonomy

[edit]

Confusion has arisen regarding these two taxa:

The first is featured on this page. The second is a synonym of Ambrosia psilostachya.[11]

In 1814 when Frederick Traugott Pursh formally named and described Ambrosia hispida he noted the species as present in the US state of South Carolina (not known from there now), and mentioned the botanist Catesby -- Mark Catesby -- and the "Herb. Sherard."[12] The Sherard Herbarium is at the University of Oxford.[13]

Etymology

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The genus name Ambrosia is thought to refer to the Greek ambrosia meaning "food of the gods," though it is unclear why Linnaeus related the two concepts.[4]

The species name hispida is New Latin from the Latin hispĭdus meaning "rough, shaggy, hairy, bristly, prickly.[14]

[edit]

References

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  1. ↑ NatureServe. "Ambrosia hispida". NatureServe Explorer. Arlington, Virginia. Retrieved 6 June 2026.
  2. 1 2 3 "Ambrosia hispida Pursh". Plants of the World Online. Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. Retrieved June 4, 2026.
  3. 1 2 Strother, John L. "Ambrosia hispida Pursh. In Flora of North America North of Mexico (FNA)". St. Louis, MO & Harvard University Herbaria, Cambridge, MA, USA: New York and Oxford: Oxford University Press via eFloras.org. Retrieved June 4, 2026.
  4. 1 2 Strother, John L. "Ambrosia Linnaeus. In Flora of North America North of Mexico (FNA)". St. Louis, MO & Harvard University Herbaria, Cambridge, MA, USA: New York and Oxford: Oxford University Press via eFloras.org. Retrieved June 4, 2026.
  5. ↑ Hassler, Michael (May 20, 2026). "Ambrosia hispida Pursh". Synonymic Checklist and Distribution of the World Flora. Version 26.05. Germany: World Plants. Retrieved June 4, 2026.
  6. 1 2 "Ambrosia hispida". Leon Levy Native Plant Preserve. Eleuthera, Bahamas: Leon Levy Preserve. 2024. Retrieved June 4, 2026.
  7. ↑ "Taxón: Ambrosia hispida Pursh". Flora de La Península de Yucatán (in Spanish). Mérida, Yucatán, México: Centro de Investigación Científica de Yucatán, A.C. Retrieved June 4, 2026.
  8. ↑ Wunderlin, R.P.; Franck, A.R.; Hansen, B.F.; Essig, F.B. "Ambrosia hispida". Atlas of Florida Plants. University of South Florida. Retrieved June 4, 2026.
  9. ↑ Calvo Irabién, Luz María (May 2012). Plantas Aromáticas de Yucatán (PDF) (in Spanish). Mérida, Yucatán, México: Centro de Investigación Científica de Yucatán, A.C. ISBN 978-607-7823-12-4.
  10. ↑ Quinlan, Marsha B; Quinlan, Robert J; Nolan, Justin M (April 2002). "Ethnophysiology and herbal treatments of intestinal worms in Dominica, West Indies". Journal of Ethnopharmacology. 80 (1). Elsevier: 75–83. doi:10.1016/S0378-8741(02)00002-8. Retrieved June 4, 2026.
  11. ↑ "Ambrosia psilostachya DC". catalogueoflife.org. Catalogue of Life. May 5, 2026. Retrieved June 5, 2026.
  12. ↑ Pursh, Frederick (1814). "Supplementum". Flora Americae Septentrionalis; or, A systematic arrangement and description of the plants of North America. Containing, besides what have been described by preceding authors, many new and rare species, collected during twelve years travels and residence in that country (in English and Latin). Vol. 2. London: Printed by Richard and Arthur Taylor. p. 743.
  13. ↑ "Sherard Herbarium". ox.ac.uk. University of Oxford, United Kingdom: BRAHMS Online. Retrieved June 4, 2026.
  14. ↑ "hispĭdus , a, um, adj". Perseus Digital Library. Massachusetts, USA: Tufts University. Retrieved June 5, 2026.
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