''Tridax procumbens'', commonly known as coatbuttons or tridax daisy, is a species of flowering plant in the family

Asteraceae The family Asteraceae, alternatively Compositae, consists of over 32,000 known species of flowering plants in over 1,900 genera within the order Asterales. Commonly referred to as the aster, daisy, composite, or sunflower family, Compositae ...

. It is best known as a widespread

weed A weed is a plant considered undesirable in a particular situation, "a plant in the wrong place", or a plant growing where it is not wanted.Harlan, J. R., & deWet, J. M. (1965). Some thoughts about weeds. ''Economic botany'', ''19''(1), 16-24. ...

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 Pest or The Pest may refer to: Science and medicine * Pest (organism), an animal or plant deemed to be detrimental to humans or human concerns ** Weed, a plant considered undesirable * Infectious disease, an illness resulting from an infection ** ...

status in nine states.

Common names

Its common names include coatbuttons and tridax daisy in English, ''jayanthi''(ಜಯoತಿ) in

Kannada Kannada (; ಕನ್ನಡ, ), originally romanised Canarese, is a Dravidian language spoken predominantly by the people of Karnataka in southwestern India, with minorities in all neighbouring states. It has around 47 million native s ...

, ''cadillo chisaca'' in

Spanish Spanish might refer to: * Items from or related to Spain: ** Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain **Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many Latin American countries **Spanish cuisine Other places * Spanish, Ontario, Ca ...

, ''herbe caille'' in French, ''jayanti veda'' (जयंती वेद) and "Avanti" in

Sanskrit Sanskrit (; attributively , ; nominalization, nominally , , ) is a classical language belonging to the Indo-Aryan languages, Indo-Aryan branch of the Indo-European languages. It arose in South Asia after its predecessor languages had Trans-cul ...

,"Ghajadvu" in

Gujarati Gujarati may refer to: * something of, from, or related to Gujarat, a state of India * Gujarati people, the major ethnic group of Gujarat * Gujarati language, the Indo-Aryan language spoken by them * Gujarati languages, the Western Indo-Aryan sub- ...

"Kumminnippacha", (കുമ്മിനിന്നിപാച്ച) "Kurikootticheera",(കുറികോട്ടിച്ചിചിറ) "Muriyampachila" (മുരിയമ്പാചില), "Odiyancheera", (ഒഡിയൻ‌ചിറ) "Railpoochedi, (റൈലാപൂച്ചെഡി) "Sanipoovu",(ഷാനിപോവ്) "Thelkuthi", (തെക്കുത്തി) "Chiravanakku", (ചിരവനാക്ക്) in

Malayalam Malayalam (; , ) is a Dravidian language spoken in the Indian state of Kerala and the union territories of Lakshadweep and Puducherry ( Mahé district) by the Malayali people. It is one of 22 scheduled languages of India. Malayalam wa ...

, ''bikhalyakarani'' in

Assamese Assamese may refer to: * Assamese people, a socio-ethnolinguistic identity of north-eastern India * People of Assam, multi-ethnic, multi-linguistic and multi-religious people of Assam * Assamese language, one of the easternmost Indo-Aryan language ...

, ''ghamra'' in

Hindi Hindi (Devanāgarī: or , ), or more precisely Modern Standard Hindi (Devanagari: ), is an Indo-Aryan languages, Indo-Aryan language spoken chiefly in the Hindi Belt region encompassing parts of North India, northern, Central India, centr ...

, ''Tridhara'' (ত্রিধারা) in

Bengali Bengali or Bengalee, or Bengalese may refer to: *something of, from, or related to Bengal, a large region in South Asia * Bengalis, an ethnic and linguistic group of the region * Bengali language, the language they speak ** Bengali alphabet, the ...

, ''bishalya karani'' (ବିଶଲ୍ୟକରଣୀ) in Oriya, ''kambarmodi'', ''Jakhamjudi'' & ''tantani'' (कंबरमोडी, जखमजुडी & टनटनी) in

Marathi Marathi may refer to: *Marathi people, an Indo-Aryan ethnolinguistic group of Maharashtra, India *Marathi language, the Indo-Aryan language spoken by the Marathi people *Palaiosouda, also known as Marathi, a small island in Greece See also * * ...

, ''gayapaaku'' (గాయపాకు) & ''gaddi chemanthi'' (గడ్డి చామంతి) & ''balapaaku'' (బలపాకు) in

Telugu Telugu may refer to: * Telugu language, a major Dravidian language of India *Telugu people, an ethno-linguistic group of India * Telugu script, used to write the Telugu language ** Telugu (Unicode block), a block of Telugu characters in Unicode S ...

,''vettukaaya poondu'' or ''thatha poo'' or'' kinatruppasan'' (கிணற்றுப்பாசான்) in

Tamil Tamil may refer to: * Tamils, an ethnic group native to India and some other parts of Asia ** Sri Lankan Tamils, Tamil people native to Sri Lanka also called ilankai tamils **Tamil Malaysians, Tamil people native to Malaysia * Tamil language, nati ...

, ''Ghaburi'' (ઘાબુરી) in Gujarati ''kotobukigiku'' in

Japanese Japanese may refer to: * Something from or related to Japan, an island country in East Asia * Japanese language, spoken mainly in Japan * Japanese people, the ethnic group that identifies with Japan through ancestry or culture ** Japanese diaspor ...

and ''tīn túkkæ'' (ตีนตุ๊กแก; 'gecko feet') in Thai. in Urdu it is known as ''zagh mai hayat''.

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. File:Coat buttons (Tridax procumbens) in Hyderabad, AP W IMG 7087.jpg, Flower in Hyderabad. File:Tridax top 1.jpg, Top view of the flower Its fruit is a hard

achene An achene (; ), also sometimes called akene and occasionally achenium or achenocarp, is a type of simple dry fruit produced by many species of flowering plants. Achenes are monocarpellate (formed from one carpel) and indehiscent (they do not op ...

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 Federal or foederal (archaic) may refer to: Politics General * Federal monarchy, a federation of monarchies * Federation, or ''Federal state'' (federal system), a type of government characterized by both a central (federal) government and states ...

. File:Starr_060721-9562_Tridax_procumbens.jpg, Ripe fruit with winged achenes ready for wind-dispersal. File:Coat buttons (Tridax procumbens) in Hyderabad, AP W IMG 7088.jpg, Residual fruit after achene dispersal.

Use in traditional medicine

Traditionally, ''Tridax procumbens'' has been in use in India for wound healing and as an anticoagulant, antifungal, and insect repellent. ''Tridax procumbens'' is also used as treatment for boils, blisters, and cuts by local healers in parts of India.

Chemical constituents

The

flavonoid Flavonoids (or bioflavonoids; from the Latin word ''flavus'', meaning yellow, their color in nature) are a class of polyphenolic secondary metabolites found in plants, and thus commonly consumed in the diets of humans. Chemically, flavonoids ...

procumbenetin has been isolated from the aerial parts of ''Tridax procumbens''. Other chemical compounds isolated from the plant include alkyl

ester In chemistry, an ester is a compound derived from an oxoacid (organic or inorganic) in which at least one hydroxyl group () is replaced by an alkoxy group (), as in the substitution reaction of a carboxylic acid and an alcohol. Glycerides ...

sterol Sterol is an organic compound with formula , whose molecule is derived from that of gonane by replacement of a hydrogen atom in position 3 by a hydroxyl group. It is therefore an alcohol of gonane. More generally, any compounds that contain the g ...

s, pentacyclic

triterpene Triterpenes are a class of chemical compounds composed of three terpene units with the molecular formula C30H48; they may also be thought of as consisting of six isoprene units. Animals, plants and fungi all produce triterpenes, including squal ...

fatty acid In chemistry, particularly in biochemistry, a fatty acid is a carboxylic acid with an aliphatic chain, which is either saturated or unsaturated. Most naturally occurring fatty acids have an unbranched chain of an even number of carbon atoms, ...

s, and

polysaccharide Polysaccharides (), or polycarbohydrates, are the most abundant carbohydrates found in food. They are long chain polymeric carbohydrates composed of monosaccharide units bound together by glycosidic linkages. This carbohydrate can react with ...

s. Several main active chemical compounds were found to be present. But toxicological knowledge is scarce and more research described to be needed on this plant.

Gallery

File:Tridax procumbens 06.JPG, Flower bud and leaves of ''Tridax procumbens'' Image:Crimson Tip (Colotis danae) on Coat buttons (Tridax procumbens) in Hyderabad, AP W IMG 7084.jpg, Crimson Tip '' Colotis danae'' in

Hyderabad, India Hyderabad ( ; , ) is the capital and largest city of the Indian state of Telangana and the ''de jure'' capital of Andhra Pradesh. It occupies on the Deccan Plateau along the banks of the Musi River, in the northern part of Southern India. W ...

. Coat buttons are widely visited by butterflies. File:Danaus chrysippus in Bandung.jpg, ''

Danaus chrysippus ''Danaus chrysippus'', also known as the plain tiger, African queen, or African monarch, is a medium-sized butterfly widespread in Asia, Australia and Africa. It belongs to the Danainae subfamily of the brush-footed butterfly family Nymphalidae ...

'' feeding on ''Tridax procumbens'' in

Bandung Bandung ( su, ᮘᮔ᮪ᮓᮥᮀ, Bandung, ; ) is the capital city of the Indonesian province of West Java. It has a population of 2,452,943 within its city limits according to the official estimates as at mid 2021, making it the fourth mos ...

West Java West Java ( id, Jawa Barat, su, ᮏᮝ ᮊᮥᮜᮧᮔ᮪, romanized ''Jawa Kulon'') is a province of Indonesia on the western part of the island of Java, with its provincial capital in Bandung. West Java is bordered by the province of Bante ...

Indonesia Indonesia, officially the Republic of Indonesia, is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania between the Indian and Pacific oceans. It consists of over 17,000 islands, including Sumatra, Java, Sulawesi, and parts of Borneo and New Guine ...

. File:Exoskeleton fly 1.jpg, Exoskeleton of

cicada The cicadas () are a superfamily, the Cicadoidea, of insects in the order Hemiptera (true bugs). They are in the suborder Auchenorrhyncha, along with smaller jumping bugs such as leafhoppers and froghoppers. The superfamily is divided into two ...

clinging to ''Tridax procumbens'' stem. File:Wasp_nectar.jpg, Wasp feeding the nectar of ''Tridax procumbens'' File:Tridax procumbens at Muzhappilangad.jpg, Ripe fruit with winged achenes

References

External links

PIER fact sheetinvasive.org profile
{{Taxonbar, from=Q2717999 Millerieae Plants described in 1753 Taxa named by Carl Linnaeus Flora of Mexico Flora of South America