Family: Asteraceae

High Risk Traits:

• Thrives in tropical climates
  
• Widely naturalized
  
• A pasture and environmental weed, threatening endangered plant taxa in the Hawaiian Islands
  
• Other Pluchea species have become invasive
  
• Possibly unpalatable or of low forage value
  
• Forms dense thickets, excluding other vegetation
  
• Tolerates many soil types
  
• Reproduces by seed
  
• Hybridizes with invasive Pluchea indica
  
• Seeds dispersed by wind and accidentally due to human activity and movement of materials, equipment etc.
  
• Prolific seed production (densities unknown)
  
• Able to resprout from roots after die-back after fires
  
• No effective biological control agents present in the Hawaiian Islands. None known elsewhere

Low Risk Traits:

• Unarmed (no spines, thorns or burrs)
  
• Non-toxic, with medicinal uses
  
• Shade-intolerant
  
• Not reported to spread vegetatively (but able to resprout)
  
• Herbicides provide effective control