Kingdom: Plantae
(Unranked): Angiosperms
(Unranked): Eudicots
(Unranked): Asterids
Order: Asterales
Family: Asteraceae
Genus: Galinsoga
Species: G. parviflora
Binomial name: Galinsoga parviflora
Synonyms: Tridax parviflora
Common name: Galinsoga, Gallant soldier
Galinsoga parviflora] is an annual herbaceous plant in the Asteraceae (daisy) family. Galinsoga parviflora was brought from Peru to Kew Gardens in 1796 and later escaped to the wild in Britain. In much of the world and in New Zealand it is considered a weed. It is an annual upright weed, normally germinating in spring, but also able to germinate in autumn. It tends not to grow quite as tall as some upright annual weeds found in crops such as fathen and redroot. The leaves are not particularly distinctive, looking similar to a number of other common weed species. Being a member of the Asteraceae family, the flowers are similar to those in weeds such as daisy and stinking mayweed, with central yellow disk florets surrounded by white ray florets (often incorrectly called petals). However, unlike daisy and stinking mayweed, the ray florets of galinsoga are very small, and so the flowers are not as noticeable as in some of these other Asteraceae species. It is found growing in gardens, cultivated land, waste places and roadsides.
Galinsoga is extremely effective in the treatment of wounds. The juice of galinsoga helps blood to coagulate faster and also acts as an antibiotic agent. Some people claim that usage of galinsoga helps wounds heal faster. Even though galinsoga is considered a weed, it is an extremely useful herb. It can also be used as an ingredient in leaf salads.
The leaves (no hairs like Galinsoga quadriradiata)
Thanks to Wikipedia for text and information: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/
