COAT BUTTONS

MEDICINAL PROPERTIES, INTERNAL: Coughs - Bleeding - Chills - Fever - Antiviral - Antioxidant - Antibiotic - Insecticidal - Anti-Inflammatory  - Hepato-protective - Liver Disorders - Gastritis - Heartburn - Anticoagulant - Antifungal - Hair Tonic - Bronchial Catarrh - Doarrhea - Dysentery - Wounds - Insect Repellant
- MAYAN MEDICINE: Mayans have used it to treat coughs, bleeding, chills, and fever.  Potential therapeutic activities: antiviral, antioxidant, antibiotic, insecticidal, & anti-inflammatory.
- AYURVEDIC MEDICINE: "It is used in Ayurvedic medicine for liver disorders, hepato-protection, gastritis, and heartburn." [2, via 1] Commonly used in Indian traditional medicine as an anticoagulant (reduces blood clotting), antifungal, hair tonic, bronchial catarrh, diarrhea, dysentery, wound healing & insect repellant. 

MEDICINAL PROPERTIES, EXTERNAL: Boils - Blisters - Cuts - Wounds - Bleeding - Hair Tonic
- INDIA: Some reports of tribal areas in India state that the fresh leaf juice can be used to cure fresh wounds, to stop bleeding, as a hair tonic.  "Tridax procumbens is also used as treatment for boils, blisters, and cuts by local healers in parts of India." [3, via 1]
BUTTERFLY ATTRACTANT: Many butterflies drink the nectar from the flowers.
CABI.ORG WRITES: "T. procumbens can be used for wound healing (Udupa et al., 1991), staunching bleeding (Burkhill, 1985) and treatment of diarrhea (Burkhill, 1985; Shashi Gupta et al., 1993), backache (Burkhill, 1985) and bronchial catarrh (Ambasta, 1986)." [4]
- AGAINST NEMATODES: - "Root galling by Meloidogyne incognita [the Southern Root-Knot Nematode] is reduced by powdered leaves of T. terrestris [most likely a synonym of T. procumbens?] mixed in soil (Sharma and Tiagi, 1989) and there is evidence from laboratory tests that juvenile stages of this nematode are killed by leaf extracts (Mani and Chitra, 1989)." [4]
- INSECTICIDAL USES: "Essential oils extracted from T. procumbens are reported to have insecticidal activity against Musca domestica [the common House Fly], Culex quinquefasciatus [the Southern House Mosquito], Dysdercus similis [a Cotton-Stainer bug?] and Supella spp. [Cockroaches] (Pathak and Dixit, 1988)." [4] "Extracts of this weed are reported to inhibit the growth of Culex quinquefasciatus [the Southern House Mosquito] larvae." [4]
- AGAINST AFLATOXIN: "Aqueous extracts inhibit aflatoxin production by Aspergillus flavus ["the major producer of Aflatoxin"] (Ghewande and Nagaraj, 1987)." [4]
- AGAINST COWPEA WEEVILS: "A petroleum ether extract from flowers protects cowpea seeds from damage by the bruchid Callosobruchus maculatus [a Cowpea Weevil] (Alam and Anis, 1987)." [4] 
POLUTRY FEED: "T. procumbens is sometimes used as green feed for poultry in Nigeria (Egunjobi, 1969)." [4] 

NATIVE TO: Tropical South America & Central America. 
- HABITAT: It is found "in fields, meadows, croplands, disturbed areas, lawns, and roadsides." [1] It " is particularly well adapted to coarse-textured soils in tropical regions." [4]
- INVASIVE: Found as a weed in many countries.  It holds official pest status in nine states. [1] It "now occurs throughout the tropics and subtropics." [4] "T. procumbens as a weed of 31 crops, however, this is almost certainly an underestimate. A wide range of crop types are infested, including cereals, fibres, legumes, pastures, tree crops and vegetables." [4] 

DESCRIPTION: A low annual or short-lived perennial plant.
- LEAVES:  Toothed and generally arrowhead-shaped. 
- FLOWERS: Small daisy-like flowers with three-toothed ray florets. 
- SEEDS: It is invasive in areas as it produces up to 1,500 windborne seeds per plant.
- ROOT: A "firm taproot." [4]
ETYMOLOGY: "The name Tridax refers to the three lobes of the ray flowers while procumbens refers to the prostrate, trailing habit of the stems." [4]
SIMILAR SPECIES: There are no other Tridax species found wild here in Florida. 
It "is known for several potential therapeutic activities like antiviral, antibiotic efficacies, wound healing activity, insecticidal and anti-inflammatory activity."  Many butterflies drink the nectar from the flowers.  (Venice, Florida).