Erect subshrub to 1 m tall, with strong, fetid smell, many-branched from a woody base;stem ribbed to cylindrical, more or less pubescent. Leaf blades 2-9 × 0.6-3.8 cm, chartaceous, lanceolate or oblanceolate, glabrous or nearly so, lower surface with abundant yellowish gland dots, the apex obtuse or acute, the base tapering into a more or less elongate (to 2 cm), winged petiole, the margins deeply lobed or serrate to entire on upper leaves. Flowers minute, greenish, in axillary glomerules or in spikes of glomerules, the spikes 1-2 cm long. Calyx greenish, ca. 1 mm long, the sepals oblong;stamens ca. 1 mm long;styles 3, whitish. Utricle whitish, ca. 1 mm long, covered with persistent sepals. Seeds 1 mm long, nearly lenticular, reddish brown (Acevedo-Rodríguez, 2005).
Related invasive species
- Dysphania ambrosioides
Related Farm Practice
- Hosts
D. ambrosioides is a herb considered a cosmopolitan weed (Correa et al., 2004). It produces thousands of small seeds that can be easily dispersed by human activities (seed contamination, mud, and farming machinery), as well as by abiotic factors (USDA-ARS, 2013). Once established in new areas, it grows as a weed affecting agriculture and native vegetation (Jellen et al., 2011). D. ambrosioides is one of the most successful herbs colonizing both disturbed and agricultural areas in almost all continents. It is included in the Global Compendium of Weeds where it is listed as a noxious weed in the United States, Central and South America, Asia, Africa, Australia and Europe (Randall, 2012). This species is considered invasive in a wide range of environments including areas in Australia, islands in the Pacific Ocean, Spain, Italy, Greece, China, Vietnam, Cambodia, and South Africa (see distribution table for details: DAISIE, 2013;PIER, 2013;USDA-NRCS, 2013).
D. ambrosioides has been reported as a weed affecting crops such as cotton, coffee, beans, chickpeas, maize, rice and grapes (Vibrans, 2011). Additionally, D. ambrosioides is host of the fungal pathogen Erysiphe betae (powdery mildew) which can spread to tomato crops (Prota4U, 2013).