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Ageratina adenophora
Also called Mexican Devil, Maui Pamakani, Crofton Weed, White Thoroughwort, Catweed, Hemp Agrimony, Sticky Agrimony
Sticky snakeroot is a perennial shrub native to Mexico, grown as an ornamental but now an invasive weed in farmland and bushland in many countries. It is rarely grown on purpose, and its main concern is its toxicity to horses and livestock.
Ageratina adenophora (synonym Eupatorium adenophorum), commonly known as Crofton weed, is a species of flowering plant in the family Asteraceae native to Mexico. Originally grown as an ornamental plant, it has become invasive into farmland and bushland worldwide. It is toxic to horses, which develop a respiratory disease known as Numinbah horse sickness after eating it.
Crofton weed is toxic to livestock. Ongoing consumption of crofton weed by horses leads to chronic lung disease, known as Numinbah Horse Sickness or Tallebudgera Horse Disease in northern New South Wales and Queensland. Outbreaks occurred in Hawaii in the 1920s, and subsequently in eastern Australia and Northland in New Zealand. There are reports of farms losing all their horses to the condition. It is typified by impaired ability to work or exercise and emphysema. Pathological findings include pulmonary interstitial fibrosis and alveolar epithelisation.
It is native to Mexico, but it is known in many other parts of the world as an introduced species and often a noxious weed. It has caused great economic loss in agriculture in southwestern China, and is threatening the native biodiversity there. It was first inadvertently introduced to Yunnan around 1940, and its rapid spread is due in part to its allelopathic competition with other plant species. It also a weed in Australia, where it was introduced to Sydney in 1904. It has spread along the coastline of New South Wales and southern Queensland. It is rated a Class 4 Noxious Weed under the NSW Noxious Weeds Act of 1993.
White snakeroot · Ageratina glabrata · Privet Leaved Agertina · Snakeroot
Text excerpted from the Wikipedia article Ageratina adenophora by its contributors, under CC BY-SA 4.0; the excerpts and the care summary drawn from them are shared under the same licence.
The care summary was written by AI (Claude, Anthropic) from the sources on this page, with general growing knowledge where they are silent. Check before relying on it.
Life form, climate and native range: World Checklist of Vascular Plants, Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew (CC BY 3.0), reformatted; see Plants of the World Online.
