Medicines
Coatbuttons
Category: Medicines - plant based
Type
Voluntary
Introduction and description
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Tridax procumbens, commonly known as coatbuttons or tridax daisy, is a species of flowering plant in the daisy family.
Its other names include jayanthi in Kannada, cadillo chisaca in Spanish, herbe caille in French, jayanti veda in Sanskrit, ghamra in Hindi, bishalya karani (ବିଶଲ୍ୟକରଣୀ) in Oriya, kambarmodi in Marathi, gaddi chemanthi (గడ్డి చామంతి) in Telugu,vettukaaya poondu in Tamil, and kotobukigiku in Japanese,
Distribution
Coatbuttons is native to the tropical Americas 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.
Description
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. Calyx is represented by scales or reduced to pappus. 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.
Medicinal uses
Coatbuttons is used in Indian traditional medicine as an anticoagulant, hair tonic, antifungal and insect repellent, in bronchial catarrh, diarrhoea, dysentery, and wound healing. It is an antiviral, anti oxidant, antibiotic and has anti-inflammatory activity.
Traditionally, Tridax procumbens leaf extracts were known to treat infectious skin diseases in folk medicines. It is a well-known ayurvedic medicine for liver disorders or hepato-protective nature besides gastritis and heart burn.
Tridax procumbens is also used as treatment for boils, blisters and cuts by local healers in Nalgonda and Warangal District of Telangana, Andhra Pradesh, India.
Dr Duke’s phytochemical database should be referenced for a full up-to-date analysis of this plant as it is, at the time of writing undergoing far more analysis.
Related observations
Healing observations
- Anti-arthritic activity of ethanolic extract of Tridax procumbens (Linn.) in Sprague Dawley rats 021448
- Antileishmanial activity of a mixture of Tridax procumbens and Allium sativum in mice 021447
- Dr Duke's list of Plants Containing QUERCETIN 021446
- Dr Duke's list of Plants with Antiretroviral activity 018318
- Tree, Isabella - Wilding - The healing potential of meadowland 029102