Ageratina adenophora (Spreng.) R.M.King & H.Rob.
Mexican devil (Ageratina adenophora) is a short-lived, perennial herb or subshrub that is native to Mexico and Costa Rica. It was introduced to New Zealand as a garden ornamental and was first recorded in the wild (naturalised) in 1931. The plant typically grows 1–2 metres tall from a perennial rootstock. It has upright stems covered in sticky hairs and diamond-shaped leaves with rounded teeth along the margins. It flowers from August to March, producing dense clusters of small white flowers, which develop into black, five-angled seeds. It tolerates drought but does not tolerate frost, heavy shade or poor drainage. It reproduces by seed and vegetatively from stems that root where they contact the ground. Seeds are dispersed by wind, water, vertebrates and roadside mowing.
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