Are you sneezing and wheezing as you make your way around the upper Delaware River region lately? Have you spied the brilliant yellow blooms of goldenrod and blamed them for your suffering? 

Before you hasten to harm those golden beauties, become acquainted with the real culprit causing your allergies to flare as autumn approaches—ragweed.

If you are one of the estimated 36 million Americans allergic to ragweed pollen, chances are good that you are sniffling, sneezing and suffering from watery eyes and an itchy sensation in the back of your throat lately. It is also likely that through the bleary haze of ragweed season, you have looked about at the gorgeous yellow blooms of goldenrod and mistakenly attributed your symptoms to this eye-catching beauty waving its bright floral flags from roadsides, meadows and yards.

This common mistake is made partly because the offender whose pollen is prompting your trip to the drug store for allergy medication is a particularly plain and unremarkable plant whose toothy foliage blends into the lush green landscapes of late summer.

While ragweed is responsible for the host of symptoms associated with respiratory allergies, many of us haven’t a clue what it looks like. That’s because its unassuming appearance allows it to fade into the background of our perception.

Enter goldenrod, which blooms within a similar timeframe and sometimes in proximity to ragweed. Due to its opulence of sunny flowers, it claims our attention and gets tagged for triggering our allergies.

We then might decide to wage war on the innocent yellow blooms. Spraying herbicides harms pollinators and removing the plants eliminates a nourishing resource. Because it flowers in late summer and early fall, goldenrod is an important source of sustenance for bees and other insects such as monarch butterflies, which gather nectar to fund their fall migration.

Celebrate the wild beauty of goldenrod instead, and allow it to flourish. Take some time to learn the difference between these plants while they are blooming now. Then show a friend.