Horseweed

Asteraceae

LIFE FORM: Annual

NATIVITY: North America

VEGETATIVE CHARACTERISTICS:

An erect plant with central stem that can grow to 6 feet tall.

FLOWERS:

Masses of inconspicuous white flowers produced from July through October.

FRUIT/DISPERSAL AGENTS:

Small seeds with whitish bristles are wind dispersed.

ECOLOGICAL PREFERENCE:

Trampled lawns in public parks; minimally maintained public parks and open space; vacant lots and rubble dump sites; abandoned grasslands (meadows); rock outcrops and stone walls; unmowed highway banks and median strips with frequent salt applications; railroad tracks with ballast substrate.

ENVIRONMENTAL FUNCTION:

Disturbance-adapted colonizer.

CULTURAL SIGNIFICANCE:

Used medicinally by native Americans.