Japanese name: コトブキギク（寿菊） Scientific name:Tridax procumbens
[Overview]
A perennial found in grassland, along roadsides, and in vacant lots.
It is covered with many hairs.
The stems are much branched and spread along the ground.
The leaves are simple and opposite, triangular-ovate, 2.5–5 cm long, and toothed.
The leaf base runs down onto the leaf stalk.
At the tip of a long, upright flower stalk, a flower head is borne facing upward.
The flower heads are 1.5–2 cm across and consist of ray florets and tubular florets; there are usually 4 ray florets, which are cream-colored with 3-lobed tips, and the tubular florets are yellow.
The involucral bracts are tinged with purple.
The fruit is an achene with a pappus.
[History]
It has become naturalized mainly in Okinawa and the Ogasawara Islands.
