- Appearance
- Tridax procumbens is a perennial herb that has a creeping stem which can reach from to 8-30 inches (20-75 cm) long.
- Foliage
- The leaves of Tridax procumbens are opposite, pinnate, oblong to ovate, and 1-2 inches (2.5-5 cm) long with cuneate bases, coarsely serrate margins, and acute apexes.
- Flowers
- Tridax procumbens flowers have white rays and yellow disk flowers. They are about 0.4-0.6 inches (1-1.5 cm) wide, and held on a 4-12 inches (10-30 cm) long stalk. Flowering occurs in spring.
- Fruit
- Fruits are achenes that are dark brown to black in color, oblong, and 0.08 inches (2 mm) long, each with a head of pappus bristles that vary from 0.12-0.24 inches (3-6 mm) long.
- Ecological Threat
- Tridax procumbens is listed as a Federal Noxious Weed. It prefers coarse-textured soils in more tropical locations. It invades roadsides, crops, waste land, and fallow land. It is native to Mexico and South America, but has become an invasive problem around the world.
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