Cyclachaena xanthifolia (False Ragweed) - photos and description
General: Tall, annual with stout stems and a branching growth habit. Stems green or red, stems pubescent towards the top, sparingly hairy towards the bottom. The size and shape of its leaves, its growth habit, and the size of this plant are all very similar to Annual Sunflower (Helianthus annuus).
Flowers: Flowers very small, crowded into terminal and axillary panicles. Flower head measured at 4 mm diameter.
Leaves: Leaves alternate, lanceolate to ovate, serrate, rough on top, downy below. Leaf highlighted in photo above was 14 cm long by 9 cm wide.
Height: Height listed in Budd's Flora to 200 cm, we measured plants to 185 cm tall.
Habitat: Roadsides, waste ground and fields.
Abundance: Very common.
Origin: Native.
Synonym: Listed in some of the field guides we use as Iva xanthifolia.
When and where photographed: Photos taken September 6th, road side, and dike along Qu'Appelle River, about 30 km north of our home in Regina, SK.