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Ambrosia leaf bur ragweed

Ambrosia ambrosioides

Also called Canyon ragweed, Big Bur-Sage, Ambrosia leaf burr ragweed, Big bursage, Ambrosia bursage, Ambrosia-leaf Bursage, Canyon Bursage

Ambrosia leaf bur ragweed
Photo: Miwasatoshi, CC BY-SA 4.0

Ambrosia ambrosioides, called canyon ragweed or chicura, is a desert shrub of 1 to 2 metres native to northern Mexico, Arizona and southern California. It is grown in dry, sunny, well-drained garden sites and needs very little water once established.

Family
Asteraceae (Daisy family)
Grows as
Shrub
Light
Full sun
Water
Water deeply but infrequently, letting the soil dry out fully between waterings.
Soil
Sandy or gritty, very well-drained soil.
Temperature
18-35 °C; tolerates brief cold but protect below about -5 °C.
How easy
Easy
Native range
California to Arizona and N. Mexico

About

Ambrosia ambrosioides, also known as canyon ragweed or chicura, is a ragweed found in the deserts of northern Mexico (Baja California, Baja California Sur, Chihuahua, Durango, Sonora), Arizona, and California (Ventura + San Diego Counties).

Growing as a shrub from 1–2 meters high, its elongate, coarsely-toothed leaves range from 4–18 cm long and 1.5–4 cm wide. It is monoecious, with both terminal and axillary racemes consisting of staminate heads occurring above their pistillate counterparts. Flowering occurs mainly in February through April. The fruits are 10–15 mm burs covered with hooked spines.

Other Ambrosia plants

Flatspine bur ragweed · Ambrosia arborescens · Annual ragweed · Lanceleaf ragweed · Silver bur ragweed · Rio Grande ragweed · San Diego bur ragweed · Weakleaf bur ragweed · Tucson bur ragweed · Triangle bur ragweed · Burrobush · Woolly fruit bur ragweed

Text excerpted from the Wikipedia article Ambrosia ambrosioides by its contributors, under CC BY-SA 4.0; the excerpts and the care summary drawn from them are shared under the same licence.

The care summary was written by AI (Claude, Anthropic) from the sources on this page, with general growing knowledge where they are silent. Check before relying on it.

Life form, climate and native range: World Checklist of Vascular Plants, Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew (CC BY 3.0), reformatted; see Plants of the World Online.

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