About Dysphania ambrosioides (L.) Mosyakin & Clemants
Dysphania ambrosioides (L.) Mosyakin & Clemants is an annual or short-lived perennial herb. It grows up to 1.2 meters (4 feet) tall, has irregular branching, and bears oblong-lanceolate leaves that can reach up to 12 centimeters (4 and a half inches) in length. Its small green flowers form in a branched panicle at the top of the stem. In addition to growing in its native regions, this species is cultivated in warm temperate to subtropical areas of Europe and the United States, including Missouri, New England, and Eastern United States, and it sometimes becomes an invasive weed. Overdoses of Dysphania ambrosioides essential oils, with toxicity attributed to their ascaridole content, have caused human deaths. Reported symptoms of overdose include severe gastroenteritis accompanied by pain, vomiting, and diarrhea, along with dizziness, headache, temporary deafness, kidney and liver damage, convulsions, paralysis, and death.
