Stats

Lifespan

Annual

Size

Large

Diet

Photosynthetic

Biome

Temperate grassland

Range

North America

Movement

Sessile

Breeding

Seeds

Defense

Toxins

Status

Common

About

This towering plant grows in fields and along roadsides across North America. A single specimen can release over one billion pollen grains during its flowering season.

Life cycle

1. 1.
   seed

   A dormant seed waits for water and warmth before germinating.
2. 2.
   sprout

   A first shoot emerges with cotyledon leaves and a tap root reaching down.
3. 3.
   sapling

   A young plant grows true leaves and a stem or trunk, putting on height each season.
4. 4.
   mature

   Fully grown, flowering or fruiting at adult size.

Learn more

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Taxonomy

Kingdom

Plantae

Phylum

Tracheophyta

Class

Magnoliopsida

Order

Asterales

Family

Asteraceae

Genus

Ambrosia

Species

Ambrosia trifida