On Wed, 06 Aug 2008 04:40:23 -0400, Sean Houtman
wrote:

Richard Wright wrote in
:

Can somebody please identify the weed shown in photos at:

http://www.box.net/shared/static/hko6tdvy80.jpg

The place is East Timor. The photos were taken last week.

It is a weed in that it invades cleared ground.

It may also be an exotic weed.

The locals told me two different stories:

1. that the Indonesians seeded areas from the air, to provide cover
for their soldiers;

2. that the plant comes from Australia.

It is not spiny, but is difficult to push through.

Richard






It looks like one of the innumerable species of Eupatorium. Many have
cordate leaves and white flowers. They have common names like Boneset,
Mistflower, and Snakeroot. Some are currently listed as Ageratina. Most
appear to be native to north and south america, but have been introduced
to other parts of the world. Ageratina adenophora is listed as a weed in
Australia.


Sean

** Posted from http://www.teranews.com **

Thanks Sean. That was a good lead. It is in fact related to
Eupatorium. This invasive weed is Chromolaena odorata, which did
indeed appeared in East Timor around the time of the Indonesian
invasion. I got this information from somebody working on its control.
The weed originates from Central and South America.