Ragweed start

In August, or, as it is known to the long-suffering, hay fever season, a bout of sneezing, sniffling, and other respiratory symptoms begins for the multitudes of unfortunates allergic to certain kinds of pollen. The numerous goldenrod species that are beginning to adorn the fields and roadsides on my walking route typically take the blame for inducing all these unpleasantries, but the real culprit is actually an obscure and non-showy plant called Ragweed. There are many different members of the plant genus Ambrosia native to our country, and this one, which seems to be ubiquitous in our area, is most likely Ambrosia artemisiifolia, the Common Ragweed. (The species name refers to the similarity the foliage bears to Wormwood, Mugwort, and other Artemisia relatives.) In any event, the Ambrosia clan—the genus comes from the Greek word for "food of the goods" and was surely put in place by a botanist with a supreme sense of irony... or hayfever—is beginning to spread, from each tiny brown flower, an outsized source of misery.