Fall may bring crisp, cool weather and beautiful colors in the trees, but it also brings fall allergies! Many of us (me included) suffer from runny noses, sneezing, and watery eyes as the seasons change, and we look around for something to blame. For many people, their eyes are drawn to goldenrod.
When I was growing up, one of the cardinal rules in my house was that we shouldn't pick goldenrod and bring it inside, because it would set off my father's allergies. As I grew up and started developing seasonal allergies, I also assumed that goldenrod was to blame...imagine my surprise when I learned that this beautiful flower is falsely accused!
It's easy to understand why so many people blame goldenrod for their suffering. Whenever they sneeze, they can look around and, most likely, see the showy golden flowers somewhere nearby. But in actuality, the very showiness of the goldenrod's flowers should be our clue that it is not to blame for our allergies.
In general, plants with showy flowers are showy for a reason: to attract their insect pollinators. Since these plants rely on insects to carry their pollen from plant to plant, the pollen is generally too heavy to be carried by the wind. Therefore, the pollen from these flowering plants is rarely to blame for your sneezing!
The true culprit is generally growing somewhere close to the goldenrod, but is much less likely to be noticed: ragweed. As you can see from the photo below, ragweed is a fairly nondescript plant. Unless you know what you're looking for, it's easy to miss.
This year seems to be a particularly good year for ragweed--it's growing in every corner, and I've seen some truly mammoth plants. So if you are a fellow allergy sufferer, get ready for an intense allergy season!
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