Plant: T. diversifolia is 2-3 m tall with upright and sometimes ligneous stalks. It forms woody shrubs.
Related invasive species
- Tithonia diversifolia
Related Farm Practice
- Soil
- Materials
T. diversifolia, commonly known as the tree marigold, is a herbaceous flowering plant in the Asteraceae family. Native to Mexico and Central America, it has been introduced and is now naturalized in tropical parts of Asia and Africa. It is also naturalized in some Pacific islands, where it is found along roadsides and in disturbed areas. T. diversifolia tolerates heat and drought and can rapidly form large herbaceous shrubs. Rapid vegetative reproduction and significant production of lightweight seeds, which can be dormant in the soil for up to four months, allow T. diversifolia to quickly invade disturbed habitats. By forming dense stands it prevents the growth of young native plants. Depending on the area, T. diversifolia may be either annual or perennial. Being able to produce flowers and seeds throughout the year, coupled with the ability of seeds to be dispersed by wind, water and animals, makes it particularly easy for T. diversifolia to quickly colonize new areas. Shoot and root growth and nutrient uptake of several plants may be adversely affected by T. diversifolia.
Imeokpara and Okusanya (1994) observed that most farmers found it difficult to manage T. diversifolia infestation in most crop fields, but particularly rice and maize fields. T. diversifolia has been reported to contain some allelochemicals and therefore may be capable of posing a serious phytotoxicity threat to agricultural crops. Goffin et al. (2002) isolated tagitinin C, a known sesquiterpene lactone (Pal et al., 1977;Baruah et al., 1994), from the aerial parts of T. diversifolia. According to Ayeni et al. (1997) several studies have indicated that these allelochemicals and their derivatives are toxic and may inhibit shoot and root growth and nutrient uptake of several plants. Ilori et al. (2007) similarly observed that the radical growth of Oryza sativa was inhibited by aqueous extract of T. diversifolia.