Photography by Marie Viljoen.
Goldenrod
Late summer and fall allergies kick in when wind-pollinated plants shed their fine powder.
Goldenrod in bloom in September, with poison ivy’s foliage turning in the background. They are valued for the beauty of their vivid flowers and for supporting the pollinators that visit them in droves when they begin to bloom in late summer and into autumn.
Goldenrod lures pollinators. Goldenrod does not cause allergies because its pollen grains are too bulky to be tossed around by a breeze and inhaled by us.
Many goldenrods favor meadows and sunny spaces.
Ragweed
Seaside goldenrods (like Solidago sempervirens) are exceptionally tough and able to withstand wind, salt, and occasional drought.
The distinctly un-showy flowers of common ragweed (Ambrosia artimisiifolia).
A dense stand of giant ragweed (Ambrosia trifida)—note its three-lobed leaves.
The male flowers of giant ragweed in early summer. The pollen in male ragweed flowers is released by a whisper of wind.
Only in extreme close-up is any yellow visible in ragweed flowers.
Mugwort
Common ragweed has finer-cut leaves than three-lobed giant ragweed.
Mugwort in bloom in late August. Unlike native ragweed and goldenrod, it is an introduced and invasive species that grows prolifically in some regions, like the Northeast.
Mugwort, like goldenrod and ragweed, belongs to the Asteraceae family.