Tridax procumbens
Tridax procumbens, commonly known as coatbuttons or tridax daisy, is a species of flowering plant in the family Asteraceae. It is best known as a widespread weed and pest plant. It is native to the tropical Americas including Mexico, but it has been introduced to tropical, subtropical, and mild temperate regions worldwide. It is listed as a noxious weed in the United States and has pest status in nine states.
Common names
Its common names include coatbuttons and tridax daisy in English.Names in other European languages include cadillo chisaca in Spanish and herbe caille in French.
Among Indo-Aryan languages, it is known in Sanskrit as jayanti veda or avanti. In Gujarati it is called ghajadvu or ghaburi. In Assamese it is known as bikhalyakarani. In Hindi it is known as ghamra, and in Urdu it is called zagh mai hayat. In Bengali it is called tridhara. In Marathi it is called kambarmodi, jakhamjudi or tantani.
Among Dravidian languages, it is called jayanthi in Kannada, while it is known in Malayalam by the names kumminnippacha, kurikootticheera, muriyampachila, odiyancheera, railpoochedi, sanipoovu, thelkuthi or chiravanakku.
In Oriya, it is called bishalya karani. In Telugu, it is called gayapaaku, gaddi chemanthi, or balapaaku. In Tamil it is called vettukaaya poondu, thatha poo or kinatruppasan and it is called kurunagala daisy in Sinhala.
It is called kotobukigiku in Japanese and tīn túkkæ in Thai.
Description
The plant bears daisy-like yellow-centered white or yellow flowers with three-toothed ray florets. The leaves are toothed and generally arrowhead-shaped. Calyx is represented by scales or reduced to pappus.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 plant can be found in fields, meadows, croplands, disturbed areas, lawns, and roadsides in areas with tropical or semi-tropical climates. It is listed in the United States as a Noxious Weed and regulated under the Federal Noxious Weed Act.