Chromolaena odorata (L.) R. M. King & H. Rob. - syn.Eupatorium odoratum L. - Asteraceae \\
bitterbush, butterfly-weed, Christmasbush 

Perennial herb or shrub, up to 3m tall, native to America, naturalized elsewhere, considered an invasive weed; leaves aromatic, ovate-triangular, toothed; flowers white-mauve to lilac.

"It is sometimes grown as a medicinal and ornamental plant. It is used as a traditional medicine in Indonesia, Thailand and parts of Africa including Nigeria. The young leaves are crushed, and the resulting liquid can be used to treat skin wounds." \\
[[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chromolaena_odorata]]

"C.odorata... originally ranged from southern Mexico south to Argentina and the Caribbean, but has been introduced into the Old World tropics where it has become an invasive pest. The plant has exhibited allelopathic effects and has been reported to cause livestock death. Medicinally, the plant decoction is taken as a remedy for coughs and colds or in baths to treat skin diseases...\\
The essential oil from the dried leaves of Chromolaena odorata (L.) R.M. King & H. Rob. was obtained by hydrodistillation and analyzed by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS). The major components were α-pinene (42.2%), β-pinene (10.6%), germacrene D (9.7%), β-copaen-4α-ol (9.4%), (E)-caryophyllene (5.4%), and geijerene/pregeijerene (7.5%). The oil was screened for antimicrobial activity and showed antibacterial activity against Bacillus cereus (MIC = 39 μg/mL) and antifungal activity against Aspergillus niger (MIC = 78 μg/mL). DFT (B3LYP/6-31G*) and post-HF (MP2/6-311+G**) indicate that pregeijerene is less stable (0.45 and 3.99 kcal/mol, respectively) than its Cope rearrangement product geijerene." \\
[Chemical composition and bioactivity of the essential oil of Chromolaena odorata from Nigeria., Owolabi, M.S., Ogundajo, A., Yusuf, K.O., Lajide, L., Villanueva, H.E., Tuten, J.A., Setzer, W.N., Records of natural products, Vol.4(1), 2010, 72-78] \\
[[http://www.acgpubs.org/RNP/2010/Volume%204/Issue%201/7-RNP-0910-148.pdf]]

"The plant has been found to contain echitive and intermidine, two toxic substances which affected adversely the lungs, kidneys and liver." \\
[Control of Chromolaena odorata (L.) R.M. King and Robinson in pastures: The Philippine experience, Remedios N. Acasio, Forages and Feed Resources in Commercial Livestock Production Systems: 113.] \\
[Chromolaena odorata. The world’s worst weeds: distribution and biology., Holm, L.G., Plucknett, D.L., Pancho, J.V., Herberger, J.P. (1977)]

[[http://plantillustrations.org/species.php?id_species=239065]]