Tuesday, 7:15 AM. 61 degrees, wind NW, light. The channel is glassy in the lee of the bluffs, and wrinkled further out. The barometer predicts sunny skies which are currently cloudless and blue.For the past week I have been sneezing and my eyes have been irritated so I knew that ragweed pollen was in the air, as few other things bother me. Ragweed causes more hay fever symptoms than almost any other irritant. The polleng rains are minute and are airborne, the plants are everywhere in disturbed places, and are difficult if not impossible to eradicate.
The species most folks will encounter is Ambrosia artemiisifolia. It is a short plant most often occurring along disturbed roadsides and similar places. It will bloom even when mowed very short. There are other species as well, including the giant ragweed, A. trifida, which can reach 15 or 20 feet in height in farm fields and ditches.(think of the pollen it produces)
The goldenrods are totally innocent plants (Solidago canadensis shown here) often wrongfully blamed for hay fever symptoms. They are insect pollinated and the pollen does not blow about. The species of the genus Solidago are showy native plants, some grown in gardens. The species are difficult to identify and often interbreed, but all are innocuous and definitely not guilty as charged.
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