Ambrosia and your Shnoz

Late summer and fall are prime time for allergies for many people. About 30% of Americans experience hay fever, aka allergic rhinitis. Allergic rhinitis is a medical term that describes nasal inflammation that is typically caused by pollen from the plants of the Ambrosia genus. This is the ragweed family, a taxa of monoecious shrubs or herbs that are particularly abundant in the Northeast portion of the USA. The plants are Wind pollinated, which scientist call anemophilous. A single plant contains billions of grain of pollen, which can travel several hundred miles in the Wind. When the pollen is ingested, via the nose or mouth, the immune system mounts an attack on the allergen as if it was a potent threat. The body reacts to the pollen's protein by creating antibodies and histamine. The histamine is synthesized in mast cells which are concentrated in the nasal cavity and other areas that are prone to infiltration by pathogens. Histomine functions to open selective permeability in membrane for white blood cells. The histomine is also the cause for the allergy symptoms..sneezing, coughing, red eyes, runny nose....all the good stuff.

The two main culprits for of the pollen are common ragweed and great ragweed.

common ragweed inflorescence

great ragweed inflorescence