Giant Ragweed
Ambrosia trifida
67
Strong
Native to West Virginia. How scores work Is it native here?
Profile 82%
- Height
- 3–12 feet
- Light
- Part shade, Shade
- Soil moisture
- Usually moist
At a glance
- Life cycle
- Annual
Not yet recorded · Spread · Leaves · Bloom
This plant is missing most of its facts, so Quercus is looking them up in old botany books.
Recorded in 10 West Virginia counties.
Ecological relationships
Who uses this plant?
53CaterpillarsGenus host records with ranges including WV
Genus host records with ranges including WV · Ambrosia
- Achyra rantalisGarden Webworm Moth
- Adaina ambrosiaeAmbrosia Plume Moth, Ragweed Plume Moth
- Argyrotaenia velutinanaRed-Banded Leafroller Moth, Jack Pine Tube Moth
- Azenia obtusaObtuse Yellow
- Caenurgina erechteaClover Looper Moth, Common Grass Moth, Forage Looper
- Chionodes mediofuscellaBlack-Smudged Chionodes
- Chlorochlamys chloroleucariaBlackberry Looper Moth
- Choristoneura rosaceanaOblique-Banded Leafroller Moth, Rosaceous Leaf Roller
- Condica sutorThe Cobbler, Cobbler Groundling
- Dichomeris juncidellaOrange-Dotted Dichomeris
Show all 53
- Ephestiodes infimellaReddish Ephestiodes
- Epiblema otiosanaBidens Borer Moth
- Epiblema strenuanaRagweed Borer
- Eupithecia miserulataCommon Eupithacia, Common Pug
- Feltia subgothicaSubgothic Dart
- Feltia tricosaConfused Dart, Tricose Dart
- Helcystogramma chambersellaChambers' Twirler
- Hellinsia inquinatusBlack-Marked Plume Moth
- Herpetogramma bipunctalisSouthern Beet Webworm, Two-Spotted Herpetogramma
- Hypena scabraGreen Cloverworm Bomolocha, Black Snout
- Lascoria ambigualisAmbiguous Moth, Ambiguous Litter Moth
- Mythimna unipunctaArmyworm Moth, White Speck
- Ogdoconta cinereolaCommon Pinkband Groundling
- Ostrinia obumbratalisSmartweed Borer
- Papaipema cataphractaBurdock Border, Potato-Stalk Borer
- Papaipema nebrisStalk Borer
- Pelochrista cataclystianaSolidaga Eucosma, Solidaga Pelochrista
- Pholisora catullusCommon Sootywing
- Plagiomimicus pityochromusBlack-Barred Brown, Ragweed Seedcropper
- Pleuroprucha insulsariaCommon Tan Wave
- Polygonia interrogationisQuestion Mark
- Ponometia candefactaOlive-Shaded Bird-Dropping Moth
- Ponometia erastrioidesSmall Bird-Dropping Moth
- Rachiplusia ouGray Looper
- Schinia gracilentaIva Flower Moth, Slender Flower Moth
- Schinia rivulosaRagweed Flower Moth
- Schinia thoreauiThoreau's Flower Moth
- Scopula inductataSoft-Lined Wave
- Sparganothis sulfureanaSparganothis Fruitworm Moth, Sulfur Leafroller, False Yellow-Head
- Spilosoma virginicaVirginian Tiger Moth, Yellow Woolybear Moth, Yellow Bear
- Spragueia leoCommon Spragueia
- Synchlora aerataWavy-Lined Emerald, Camouflaged Looper
- Thyridopteryx ephemeraeformisEvergreen Bagworm Moth
- Tricholita signataSignate Quaker, Signate Groundcat
- Bucculatrix agnella
- Bucculatrix pomifoliella
- Dichomeris washingtoniella
- Epiblema minutana
- Gnorimoschema saphirinella
- Hahncappsia marculenta
- Landryia matutella
- Paralobesia sambuci
- Paralobesia vernoniana
2BeesSoutheastern regional records
Southeastern regional records · Ambrosia
Individual names are not available yet.
Noori, Seltmann & Orr 2026, A curated and integrated dataset for exploring global bee-plant interactions (GloBI), Zenodo, CC BY 4.0
0Specialist beesPollen specialists
23BirdsRecorded eating Ambrosia in West Virginia
Diet records by plant genus, from studies across North America. Not a record from this state. Birds whose range includes West Virginia, most records first.
- Brown-headed Cowbird5 diet records
- Northern Bobwhite5 diet records
- Red-winged Blackbird4 diet records
- Mourning Dove4 diet records
- American Pipit2 diet records
- American RobinFruit. 2 diet records
- Bobolink2 diet records
- Horned LarkSeeds. 2 diet records
- Pine Grosbeak2 diet records
- American Crow1 diet record
Show all 23
- Common Grackle1 diet record
- Dark-eyed JuncoSeeds. 1 diet record
- Eastern BluebirdFruit. 1 diet record
- European Starling1 diet record
- Grasshopper SparrowSeeds. 1 diet record
- House FinchSeeds. 1 diet record
- Lapland Longspur1 diet record
- Lincoln's SparrowSeeds. 1 diet record
- Northern CardinalSeeds. 1 diet record
- Red Crossbill1 diet record
- Snow Bunting1 diet record
- Song SparrowSeeds. 1 diet record
- White-winged Crossbill1 diet record
Direct food only. Caterpillars on host plants also feed nesting birds. NC Native Plant Society: butterfly gardening
No records yet · Ants · Beetles · Flies · Adult butterflies / moths · Other wasps · Other insects
Birds that eat Ambrosia 23
Diet records by plant genus, from studies across North America. Not a record from this state. Avian Diet Database (Hurlbert Lab), CC0 1.0.
- Brown-headed CowbirdMolothrus ater
- Northern BobwhiteColinus virginianus
- Red-winged BlackbirdAgelaius phoeniceus
- Mourning DoveZenaida macroura
- American PipitAnthus rubescens
- American RobinTurdus migratorius
- BobolinkDolichonyx oryzivorus
- Horned LarkEremophila alpestris
- Pine GrosbeakPinicola enucleator
- American CrowCorvus brachyrhynchos
- Common GrackleQuiscalus quiscula
- Dark-eyed JuncoJunco hyemalis
- Eastern BluebirdSialia sialis
- European StarlingSturnus vulgaris
- Grasshopper SparrowAmmodramus savannarum
- House FinchCarpodacus mexicanus
- Lapland LongspurCalcarius lapponicus
- Lincoln's SparrowMelospiza lincolnii
- Northern CardinalCardinalis cardinalis
- Red CrossbillLoxia curvirostra
- Snow BuntingPlectrophenax nivalis
- Song SparrowMelospiza melodia
- White-winged CrossbillLoxia leucoptera
.jpg){kind=link}
Growing and identification
Plant details
- Family
- Asteraceae
- Flower color
- Green or brown
What its natural habitat tells you
Safety has not been reviewed for this plant; check toxicity and thorns before planting.
Growing sources and scope
- Flower color · “Green or brown” · Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center
- Height · “3–12 feet” · Minnesota Wildflowers
- Life cycle · “Annual” · Minnesota Wildflowers
- Light · “Part shade; Shade” · Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center
- Soil · “Moist” · Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center
Also known as
Texan Great Rag Weed; Texan Great Ragweed; Texas Giant Rag Weed; Texas Giant Ragweed
Conservation status
| West Virginia rank | S5 |
|---|---|
| Global rank | G5 |
| WV status | Not verified |
| Federal status | Not verified |
In your garden
Will it fit your yard?
Check this plant against your county, sun and soil moisture. Conditions are checked in your browser.
Choose a county to begin.
Sources
- NatureServe Explorer
- USDA PLANTS
- Vascular Plants of North Carolina (NC Natural Heritage Program)
- West Virginia occurrence source
- Shropshire & Tallamy 2025, Lepidoptera of North America north of Mexico, ZooKeys 1261 (ODbL)
- Noori, Seltmann & Orr 2026, A curated and integrated dataset for exploring global bee-plant interactions (GloBI), Zenodo, CC BY 4.0
- Smith, Bachelder, Russell, Morales, Mosher & Seltmann 2024, Bee-Specialization-Modeling v0.6.1 (specialist host table compiled from J. Fowler's pollen specialist bee lists), Zenodo, CC BY 4.0
- Hurlbert, Olsen, Sawyer & Winner 2021, Avian Diet Database, Scientific Data 8: 260 (CC0)
- Narango, Tallamy & Shropshire 2020, Few keystone plant genera support the majority of Lepidoptera species, Nature Communications