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Asteraceae family

Peruvian Ragweed Ambrosia peruviana

Peruvian Ragweed is an introduced perennial shrub, found in Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands.

More about this plant

Ambrosia peruviana is a species of plant in the family Asteraceae. It occurs from Mexico south to Argentina, being common in the Antilles and the Andes. Wikipedia →

Growing & care

USDA PLANTS · TRY
Size & form
Sources · Size & form
USDA PLANTS — Lifespan
Lifespan
Perennial
In the garden
Shrub layer — Sits in the shrub of a layered food forest or polyculture.Open guide →
derived roles
Species characteristics from USDA PLANTS (public domain) + TRY (CC BY) — general guidance, not a guarantee for your exact site. Deer "browsing" is documented palatability, not a deer-proof claim.

Wildlife & pollinators

How pollinator value is scored →
❧ Caterpillar hosts ~48 caterpillar species

Ambrosia supports ~48 caterpillar species.

Native butterfly & moth caterpillars are the base of the terrestrial food web — most songbirds rear their young almost entirely on them. As a host for native Lepidoptera this is a strong genus.

Recorded feeding on Ambrosia in North America, including:

Adaina ambrosiae · Ragweed Plume Moth Animomyia morta · geometer (inchworm) moth Areniscythris brachypteris Asymmetrura impositella Asymmetrura matutella Bucculatrix agnella · ribbed cocoon-maker moth
+ 8 more species →
Bucculatrix ambrosiaefoliella · ribbed cocoon-maker moth Bucculatrix franseriae · ribbed cocoon-maker moth Bucculatrix pomifoliella · Apple Skeletonizer Bucculatrix transversata · ribbed cocoon-maker moth Caenurgina erechtea · Forage Looper Carolella beevorana · leafroller moth Charidryas gorgone · brush-footed butterfly Chionodes mediofuscella · Black-Smudged Chionodes
Keystone count (genus-level) from Warren II 2026 (CC0) · Tallamy host-use records. Named species (a documented Nearctic sample, not exhaustive) from NHM HOSTS (CC0).
Species thumbnails re-hosted from iNaturalist — Creative Commons, credited per image (hover for credit). Click any species to see it on iNaturalist. Not exhaustive; many taxa have no openly-licensed photo yet.
Sources for this entry (11) Open & cited
[01] Scientific name & family — USDA PLANTS (DwCA, Zenodo 17903503)
[02] Growth habit & duration — USDA PLANTS (DwCA, Zenodo 17903503)
[03] Native status & distribution — USDA PLANTS (DwCA, Zenodo 17903503)
[04] Common name — USDA PLANTS (via GBIF)
[05] Invasive / introduced status — USDA PLANTS (DwCA, Zenodo 17903503) — native status
[07] Description — Wikipedia (CC BY-SA)
[08] Ecological value — Warren II 2026 (CC0) · Tallamy host-use counts
[10] Caterpillar host count — Warren II 2026 (Dryad, CC0) · Tallamy host-use counts
[11] Caterpillar species — NHM HOSTS (CC0)
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