Originially from the tropics of South America, this evergreen,flowering shrub has spread to Asia, Africa and north America. It has been reported to have medicinal properties and is used in traditional medicine in several countries. Very little is known about the impact of this weed on native flora and fauna in India.
It invades fallow land and shallow wetlands. It is extremely hardy and is resilient to several forms of chemical and biological control. As a result, there have been numerous attempts to find a use for the plant and therefore harvest it as a means of controlling its spread. While most of these attempts have used methods that are expensive, and work on a small scale, a recent attempt at using the plant to produce bio-gas seems promising.
