Identifying a weed

That's very close. The stems, like these stems are purple and hairy. The leaves are not that toothed. It could be in the same family.

I just joined Dave's Garden in an effort to learn what the plant is but can not figure out how to join their forums.

It would help if it weren't pouring!

One thing I've learned from this thread and the poking around I have been doing: that people ascribe all sorts of names to weeds that fail to help you identify them!

roadside weed?
http://pool.twincitiesdailyphoto.com/2009/roadside_weed.jpg

I actually do think it is ragweed. I am not allergic to its pollen and I do not sneeze but, if it touches my skin, I break out. I went in immediately and washed my forearms with Dr. Bronner's Tea Tree Oil Soap. I later took a bath and another since but I still see traces of the rash. I wear gloves but it is difficult to pull tall weeds and not have skin contact. I am NOT gardening without long sleeves again!

In the meantime, I will research contact dermatitis caused by ragweed.

BTW, I thought that roadside weed was beautiful.

Me too! Even weed can be beautiful

here is a tool that might help you in the future

http://www.colby.edu/info.tech/BI211/PlantFamilyID.html

it is important to be able to describe a plant accurately to key it out

A great deal of the information asked here is not necessarily something a non-biologist would know.

I would not readily know whether flowers are bisexual or unisexual, actinomorphic or zygomorphic! I have never seen fruit on ragweed.

When I submitted all that I knew, I received a long list of scientific names, only two of which I recognized: the cucumber/squash/pumpkin family and the rose family.

Hours ago, I looked up Massachusetts' weeds and quickly ran away...

Why?

And they all thrive in my backyard!

There are so many invasive plants in my yard that I am thinking of naming it Normandy Beach.

Too many names listed, and no pics on the sites I checked. But the real why is that I was lazy..

I tried to enter the idea of a hairy stem, which the plant has. None of the sites allowed that sort of entry but rather asked for a description of the hair. The hair isn't on the leaves, just the stems.

If it is not ragweed, it is golden rod. There are 100 species of golden rod! No, it is not golden rod, although it could be Canadian golden rod. Most species of golden rod are without hair on their stems.

The latest news on the identify the weed front.

I am a member of the local freecycle* unit which has a gardening subsite. I asked folks on the site for info. As the group had a plant swap this weekend, the moderator suggested I bring it to the swap.

I did. Everyone said that they recognized the plant because it is "everywhere" but no one knew what it was. No one else had allergic reactions to it.

*While I am certain that many a2k people know about freecycle, for those who do not, freecycle is an internet forum, one of the yahoo community groups, on which people can trade, give away or seek useful items. I have a small desk and a night stand from freecycle. I gave away a table and lots of daylillies.

I'm going to give away a micro-mini skirt and some CDs shortly.