You're right about those bloodweeds,cher. They're a mess. Grow every place that does'nt get cut regulary.I dont know the real name for them, but bloodweed is good enough for me.
If you rub your arms or legs on the undersides of the leaves or stalks they give you a blood blister. Okra does the same. BTW. Im from Krotz Springs in the upper Atchafalaya basin, and b,weeds here can get 16'tall with 6"trunks out the ground. You cant pull em up with your truck. Laissez le bon temps roullez.

There is a giant ragweed which grows throughout Louisiana, Ambrosia trifida, which is known as Bloodweed.
http://www.hgtvgardens.com/flowers-and-plants/great-ragweed-ambrosia-trifida

davidnall; You're right. Those suckers can get enormous!

I was raised right here in Chalmette but worked our farm in Avoyelles (Plaucheville) every weekend, summers and holidays for many years.

Trying to learn/teach the correct name of species we've given our own "Loosyanna" version of a name.

Just a few;

Gros Bec=Black-Crowned Night Heron
Choupic=Bowfin
Bec Crosse=Ibis
Patasa(sp?)=Bluegill
Green Trout=Bass
Poisson Armee=Gar
Sac-a-lait=Crappie
French Duck=Mallard (still call em French Ducks)
Barbou=Catfish
Cowain=Snapping Turtle
SOB!#+ or Coco grass=Nutsedge
poule d' eau=Coot (Don't even know one person who calls them coots!)
pain perdu=?
cous cous= with some gratons crumbled in!

You'll get a special bonus if you know what the bottom two are!

BTW, crossed the Atchafalaya many times at Krotz Springs rather than at Simmesport.

missingtheobvious; You are probably right. However, after your link led me on a search of "Great/Giant Ragweed", I spent over an hour "googling" that plant. It seems unusual that none of the sites I visited made mention of the distinctive freckled bark or corky core of the plant. It was obvious that many sites just parroted verbatim what the other sites had already written.

Our little corner of the world no longer has any significant agricultural activity. I often wondered how the Squash Vine Borer could proliferate here without hardly anyone growing squash or sunflowers. Well, it appears that the Giant Ragweed is part of the "Astor" family (same as sunflowers). This would provide millions of host plants for that stinkin lousy killer of my squash plants! I hate Bloodweeds even more now.

This post was edited by bigoledude on Fri, Jun 13, 14 at 3:56