Tridax procumbens

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Tridax procumbens

Scientific classification
Kingdom: Plantae
Division: Magnoliophyta
Class: Magnoliopsida
Order: Asterales
Family: Asteraceae
Tribe: Heliantheae
Genus: Tridax
Species: T. procumbens
Binomial name
Tridax procumbens
L.

Tridax procumbens is a species of flowering plant in the daisy family. Its common names include coat buttons and tridax daisy in English, cadillo chisaca in Spanish, herbe caille in French, Jayanti veda in Sanskrit, ghamra in Hindi, Dagadi pala in Marathi, Thata poodu in Tamil[1], and kotobukigiku in Japanese. It is best known as a widespread weed and pest plant. It is native to the tropical Americas but it has been introduced to tropical, subtropical, and mild temperate regions worldwide. The plant bears daisylike yellow-centered white or yellow flowers with three-toothed ray florets. The leaves are toothed and generally arrowhead-shaped. Its fruit is a hard achene covered with stiff hairs and having a feathery, plumelike white pappus at one end. The plant is invasive in part because it produces so many of these achenes, up to 1500 per plant, and each achene can catch the wind in its pappus and be carried some distance. This weed can be found in fields, meadows, croplands, disturbed areas, lawns, and roadsides in areas with tropical or semi-tropical climates.

[edit] Further reading

Everitt, J.H.; Lonard, R.L., Little, C.R. (2007). Weeds in South Texas and Northern Mexico. Lubbock: Texas Tech University Press.  ISBN 0-89672-614-2

[edit] References

  1. ^ Saxena, V. K. & S. Albert. (2005). β-Sitosterol-3-O-β-D-xylopyranoside from the flowers of Tridax procumbens Linn. J Chem Sci 117:3 263-266.

[edit] External links