Male Monarch observed on a non native Butterfly Bush. Sunny, 24C, low wind.
Common Ragweed is an early pioneer species of disturbed soils, has been introduced worldwide and is now a common weed in both agricultural and urban sites. With high population densities and prolific production of highly allergenic pollen, it is a major contributor to the agony of hayfever suffers around the globe.
(https://www.minnesotawildflowers.info/flower/common-ragweed)
Leaves are thin, fern-like, deeply lobed with many of the side lobes deeply lobed again (1-2 pinnate), generally egg-shaped in outline, up to 6 inches long and 4 inches wide near the base, hairy but may become smooth with age. The lower leaves are oppositely attached, the upper are alternate. The stem is typically heavily branched and variably covered with soft, erect white hairs and often has a purple tint. (https://www.minnesotawildflowers.info/flower/common-ragweed)
Life Stage - Flowering
Origin - Native to regions of the Americas
Flower - Slender spike-like racemes, sometimes branched, from 1 to 6 inches long at the tip of the central stem and branches. Male (staminate) flowers are yellow to greenish, tiny, hanging down on short stalks, petal-less and bead-like. Female flowers are indistinct, tucked away in clusters with short leafy bracts at the base of the cluster, along the stem or in the axil. Clusters are initially densely packed, spreading out as the plant matures.