What's up, Forsyth?

Ragweed: Fall's Public Enemy #1 Written by Dr. Joel Gallagher, Allergy and Asthma Center of NC, Cone Health Medical Group Common ragweed — Ambrosia artemisiifolia — might sound divine, but anyone with allergies knows it’s anything but heavenly. There are also other species of ragweed, all of which are allergenic and belong to the genus Ambrosia . These tough plants grow across nearly every corner of the U.S., thriving especially in the Eastern and Midwestern states. Image 1. "Ragweed" by Austin Nature in the City is marked with Public Domain Mark 1.0. The name Ambrosia comes from the Greek word for “food of the gods” or “drink of immortality.” Why Carl Linnaeus, the father of modern taxonomy, chose such an exalted name remains a mystery. The species name, however, is easier to explain: ragweed’s leaves resemble those of Artemisia absinthium , better known as wormwood — the plant used to make the legendary, and once hallucinogenic, drink absinthe. Ragweed is an annua...

    Plantain: Nature's Band-Aid Written by Anne Ambs, Allergy and Asthma Center of NC, Cone Health Medical Group For this week’s adventure, I had to go no further than my own back yard, much to my chagrin, to find plantain weeds nestled in among the other herbaceous plants and bushes. This plant, which originated in Eurasia, has followed human migration patterns throughout history and is now found in nearly every state in the US. The genus Plantago , commonly referred to as plantain, includes over 200 species and is widely distributed around the world. Most are herbaceous perennials with similar growth patterns. Herbaceous plants have flexible green stems with few to no woody parts. Low to the ground, the leaves grow in a rosette pattern with a spikelike flowering structure towering above it. This plant’s leaves are low enough to the ground to evade lawn mower blades and are tough enough to bounce back to life, even if stepped on. Image 1: English Plantain.  Photo credi...

  Rye Grass: A Cool Season Grass Causing Allergies in Warmer Months Written by Dr. Joel Gallagher, Allergy and Asthma Center of NC, Cone Health Medical Group and Dr. Peter Gallagher, PhD Professor Emeritus, College of Applied & Natural Sciences at Louisiana Tech University  Rye grass (Lolium species ) is a cool season type of turf grass (along with fescue, Kentucky bluegrass, and other grass varieties) as opposed to the warm season grasses such as Bermuda grass, St. Augustine, Zoysia, and centipede. North Carolina is in a transitional zone where a combination of warm season and cool season grasses are often used. In the Piedmont Triad, rye grass seed is often mixed with other grass species either for faster coverage (especially with autumn planting) or overseeded for winter color (when the warm weather grasses are brown while they are dormant). Image of perennial ryegrass ( Lolium perenne ). " perennial ryegrass Lolium perenne " by  loarie  is licensed un...

  Bermuda Grass, or Devil Grass for Allergy Sufferers! Written by Dr. Joel Gallagher, Allergy and Asthma Center of NC, Cone Health Medical Group Bermuda grass… It always brings me back to my teenage days pulling weeds when I worked as a gardener in high school! This grass is extremely tenacious, and it was nearly impossible to completely eradicate it from a garden bed. There was something very appealing about it, however. The blue-green hue of the blades of grass made a distinct impact, and its ability to grow just about anywhere certainly made it one of the hardier strains of turf grass! Bermuda grass is very common on golf courses, as its low growing nature makes it ideal for the perfectly manicured putting greens amongst the rolling hills of the country clubs. It is also serves as a better choice for golf courses since it is more drought-tolerant, more pest-resistant, and recovers quickly from high traffic than many other types of grass. On the other hand, its tenacity also ca...

  What's up, Forsyth? Our next pollen blog post is here! Thanks to Dr. Gallagher with Allergy and Asthma Center of NC for teaching us all about maple pollen, which are commonly observed in Forsyth County's pollen count this time of year. Maples — Beyond  the Syrup! Written by Dr. Joel Gallagher, Allergy and Asthma Center of NC, Cone Health Medical Group Well, the pollen season is officially upon us and in full swing. Today we are going to delve into maple pollen! Although we think a bit more about maples in the fall season when leaves are transitioning into shades of crimson, burnt orange, and yellow ocher, it plays an important part in the spring allergy season as well. My childhood memories of maple involve playing with maple seedpods (called samaras), which resemble tiny helicopter blades. However, before the seedpods take form, we are graced with the maple pollen. Like many of the allergenic springtime pollens, it is the perfect size to enter our airways and cause allergic...

What's Up, Forsyth? The Forsyth County Office of Environmental Assistance and Protection officially began our pollen monitoring and forecasting program for the 2025 season on February 10th. In addition to reading our daily report, which you can access by following us on Facebook and X , checking our website , or subscribing to emails and faxes, we are excited to provide more in-depth information through a series of pollen-focused blog posts. These short blogs will feature some of our "worst offenders" throughout the year and will be written by allergy specialists from the Allergy and Asthma Center of NC. We're kicking off the series with cedar, which are abundant this time of year.  Cedar Fever Written by Dr. Joel Gallagher, Allergy and Asthma Center of NC, Cone Health Medical Group Pollen season is traditionally thought of as occurring in the early spring – March into May – when the characteristic yellow plumes float through the air when we get a lovely breeze and ca...