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Taxon:  Ageratum houstonianum Mill.



Summary
Genus:
Ageratum
Family:
Asteraceae (alt. Compositae)
Nomen number:
1761
Place of publication:
Gard. dict. ed. 8: Ageratum no. 2. 1768
Verified:
11/01/1985 ARS Systematic Botanists.
Accessions:
0 (0  active, 0  available) in Australian Pastures Genebank. 
Other conspecific taxa
Autonyms (not in current use), synonyms and invalid designations
Heterotypic Synonym(s)
Ageratum mexicanum Sims
No images


Reference(s)
  1. Aldén, B., S. Ryman & M. Hjertson. Våra kulturväxters namn - ursprung och användning. Formas, Stockholm (Handbook on Swedish cultivated and utility plants, their names and origin). 2009
  2. Balick, M. J. et al. Checklist of the vascular plants of Belize, with common names and uses. Mem. New York Bot. Gard. 85. 2000
  3. Brako, L. & J. L. Zarucchi. Catalogue of the flowering plants and gymnosperms of Peru. Monogr. Syst. Bot. Missouri Bot. Gard. 45. 1993
  4. Conservatoire et Jardin botaniques & South African National Biodiversity Institute. African flowering plants database (on-line resource).
  5. Encke, F. et al. Zander: Handwörterbuch der Pflanzennamen, 13. Auflage. 1984
  6. Encke, F. et al. Zander: Handwörterbuch der Pflanzennamen, 14. Auflage. 1993
  7. Euro+Med Editorial Committee. Euro+Med Plantbase: the information resource for Euro-Mediterranean plant diversity (on-line resource).
  8. FNA Editorial Committee. Flora of North America. 1993-
  9. Funk, V. et al. Checklist of the plants of the Guiana Shield (Venezuela: Amazonas, Bolivar, Delta Amacuro; Guyana, Surinam, French Guiana). Contr. U.S. Natl. Herb. 55:1-584. 2007
  10. Henderson, L. Alien weeds and invasive plants: a complete guide to declared weeds and invaders in South Africa. Plant Protection Research Institute, Handbook 12. 2001
  11. Hnatiuk, R. J. Census of Australian vascular plants. Australian Flora and Fauna Series No. 11. 1990
  12. Hokche, O. et al. Nuevo catálogo de la flora vascular de Venezola. 2008
  13. Holm, L. et al. A geographical atlas of world weeds. 1979
  14. Huxley, A., ed. The new Royal Horticultural Society dictionary of gardening. 1992
  15. Institute of Pacific Islands Forestry. Pacific Island Ecosystems at Risk (PIER): plant threats to Pacific ecosystems (on-line resource).
  16. Iwatsuki, K. et al. Flora of Japan. 1993-
  17. Jørgensen, P. M. & S. León-Yánez, eds. Catalogue of the vascular plants of Ecuador. Monogr. Syst. Bot. Missouri Bot. Gard. 75. 1999
  18. Johnson, M. F. 1971. A monograph of the genus Ageratum L. (Compositae - Eupatorieae). Ann. Missouri Bot. Gard. 58:21-25.
  19. Lazarides, M. & B. Hince. CSIRO Handbook of Economic Plants of Australia. 1993
  20. Li, H. L. et al., eds. Flora of Taiwan. 1975-1979
  21. Liberty Hyde Bailey Hortorium. Hortus third. 1976
  22. McVaugh, R. Flora Novo-Galiciana. 1983-
  23. Nelson, C. H. N. Catálogo de las plantas vasculares de Honduras. 2008
  24. Office of the Union. UPOV: International Union for the Protection of New Varieties of Plants. List of the taxa protected by the members of the Union. 2009
  25. Rehm, S. Multilingual dictionary of agronomic plants. 1994
  26. Stace, C. New flora of the British Isles. 1995
  27. Standley, P. C. & J. A. Steyermark. Flora of Guatemala. 1946-1976
  28. Turner, B. L. 1997. The comps of Mexico: a systematic account of the family Asteraceae. Volume 1: Eupatoreae. Phytologia Mem. 11:54.
  29. Turrill, W. B. et al., eds. Flora of tropical East Africa. 1952-
  30. Vibrans, H., ed. Malezas de México (on-line resource).
  31. Woodson, R. E. & R. W. Schery, eds. Flora of Panama. 1943-1980
  32. Wu Zheng-yi & P. H. Raven et al., eds. Flora of China (English edition). 1994-
Common names
English
ageratum –
blue billygoat-weed –
bluemink –
flossflower –
Mexican ageratum –
Afrikaans
Mexikaanse ageratum –
French
ageratum du Mexique –
German
mexikanischer Leberbalsam –
Spanish
agérato –
Swedish
ageratum –
Transcribed Chinese
zi hua huo xiang ji –
Distribution
order_codeStatusContinentSubcontinentCountryStateNote
1NativeNorthern AmericaSouthern MexicoMexicoChiapas 
1NativeNorthern AmericaSouthern MexicoMexicoHidalgo 
1NativeNorthern AmericaSouthern MexicoMexicoJalisco 
1NativeNorthern AmericaSouthern MexicoMexicoMorelos 
1NativeNorthern AmericaSouthern MexicoMexicoNayarit 
1NativeNorthern AmericaSouthern MexicoMexicoOaxaca 
1NativeNorthern AmericaSouthern MexicoMexicoVeracruz 
1NativeSouthern AmericaMesoamericaBelize  
1NativeSouthern AmericaMesoamericaHonduras  
2Cultivated     
4NaturalizedAfricaEast Tropical AfricaKenya  
4NaturalizedAfricaEast Tropical AfricaTanzania  
4NaturalizedAfricaMacaronesiaPortugalMadeira Islands 
4NaturalizedAfricaNortheast Tropical AfricaEthiopia  
4NaturalizedAfricaNortheast Tropical AfricaSudan  
4NaturalizedAfricaNorthern AfricaEgypt  
4NaturalizedAfricaSouth Tropical AfricaMalawi  
4NaturalizedAfricaSouth Tropical AfricaZambia  
4NaturalizedAfricaSouthern AfricaSouth Africa  
4NaturalizedAfricaSouthern AfricaSwaziland  
4NaturalizedAfricaWest-Central Tropical AfricaCameroon  
4NaturalizedAfricaWest-Central Tropical AfricaZaire  
4NaturalizedAfricaWestern Indian OceanMadagascar  
4NaturalizedAsia-TemperateCaucasusGeorgia  
4NaturalizedAsia-TemperateChinaChinaAnhui 
4NaturalizedAsia-TemperateChinaChinaFujian 
4NaturalizedAsia-TemperateChinaChinaGuangdong 
4NaturalizedAsia-TemperateChinaChinaGuangxi 
4NaturalizedAsia-TemperateChinaChinaGuizhou 
4NaturalizedAsia-TemperateChinaChinaHainan 
4NaturalizedAsia-TemperateChinaChinaHebei 
4NaturalizedAsia-TemperateChinaChinaJiangsu 
4NaturalizedAsia-TemperateChinaChinaShandong 
4NaturalizedAsia-TemperateChinaChinaSichuan 
4NaturalizedAsia-TemperateChinaChinaYunnan 
4NaturalizedAsia-TemperateChinaChinaZhejiang 
4NaturalizedAsia-TemperateEastern AsiaJapan  
4NaturalizedAsia-TemperateEastern AsiaTaiwan  
4NaturalizedAsia-TropicalIndian SubcontinentIndia  
4NaturalizedAsia-TropicalIndian SubcontinentNepal  
4NaturalizedAsia-TropicalIndo-ChinaMyanmar  
4NaturalizedAsia-TropicalIndo-ChinaThailand  
4NaturalizedAsia-TropicalMalesiaPapua New Guinea  
4NaturalizedAustralasiaAustraliaAustralia  
4NaturalizedAustralasiaNew ZealandNew Zealand  
4NaturalizedNorthern AmericaNortheastern U.S.A.United StatesConnecticut 
4NaturalizedNorthern AmericaNortheastern U.S.A.United StatesMassachusetts 
4NaturalizedNorthern AmericaSouth-Central U.S.A.United StatesTexas 
4NaturalizedNorthern AmericaSoutheastern U.S.A.United StatesAlabama 
4NaturalizedNorthern AmericaSoutheastern U.S.A.United StatesFlorida 
4NaturalizedNorthern AmericaSoutheastern U.S.A.United StatesGeorgia 
4NaturalizedNorthern AmericaSoutheastern U.S.A.United StatesNorth Carolina 
4NaturalizedNorthern AmericaSoutheastern U.S.A.United StatesSouth Carolina 
4NaturalizedPacificNorth-Central PacificUnited StatesHawaii 
4NaturalizedPacificSouth-Central PacificFrench Polynesia  
4NaturalizedPacificSouthwestern PacificFiji  
4NaturalizedSouthern AmericaMesoamericaGuatemala  
4NaturalizedSouthern AmericaNorthern South AmericaSuriname  
4NaturalizedSouthern AmericaNorthern South AmericaVenezuela  
4NaturalizedSouthern AmericaWestern South AmericaEcuador  
4NaturalizedSouthern AmericaWestern South AmericaPeru  
Native
Northern America
  • SOUTHERN MEXICO: Mexico [Chiapas, Hidalgo, Jalisco, Morelos, Nayarit, Oaxaca, Veracruz]
Southern America
  • MESOAMERICA: Belize, Honduras
Cultivated ()
Naturalized
Africa
  • EAST TROPICAL AFRICA: Kenya, Tanzania
  • MACARONESIA: Portugal [Madeira Islands]
  • NORTHEAST TROPICAL AFRICA: Ethiopia, Sudan
  • NORTHERN AFRICA: Egypt
  • SOUTH TROPICAL AFRICA: Malawi, Zambia
  • SOUTHERN AFRICA: Swaziland, South Africa
  • WEST-CENTRAL TROPICAL AFRICA: Cameroon, Zaire
  • WESTERN INDIAN OCEAN: Madagascar
Asia-Temperate
  • CAUCASUS: Georgia
  • CHINA: China [Anhui, Fujian, Guangdong, Guangxi, Guizhou, Hainan, Hebei, Jiangsu, Shandong, Sichuan, Yunnan, Zhejiang]
  • EASTERN ASIA: Japan, Taiwan
Asia-Tropical
  • INDIAN SUBCONTINENT: India, Nepal
  • INDO-CHINA: Myanmar, Thailand
  • MALESIA: Papua New Guinea
Australasia
  • AUSTRALIA: Australia
  • NEW ZEALAND: New Zealand
Northern America
  • NORTHEASTERN U.S.A.: United States [Connecticut, Massachusetts]
  • SOUTH-CENTRAL U.S.A.: United States [Texas]
  • SOUTHEASTERN U.S.A.: United States [Alabama, Florida, Georgia, North Carolina, South Carolina]
Pacific
  • NORTH-CENTRAL PACIFIC: United States [Hawaii]
  • SOUTH-CENTRAL PACIFIC: French Polynesia
  • SOUTHWESTERN PACIFIC: Fiji
Southern America
  • MESOAMERICA: Guatemala
  • NORTHERN SOUTH AMERICA: Suriname, Venezuela
  • WESTERN SOUTH AMERICA: Ecuador, Peru
Economic Uses
UsageTypeNoteReference
Environmentalornamental Huxley, A., ed. The new Royal Horticultural Society dictionary of gardening. 1992
Weedpotential seed contaminant Holm, L. et al. A geographical atlas of world weeds. 1979
Cite as: USDA, Agricultural Research Service, National Plant Germplasm System. 2025. Germplasm Resources Information Network (GRIN Taxonomy). National Germplasm Resources Laboratory, Beltsville, Maryland.
URL: https://apg.pir.sa.gov.au/gringlobal/taxon/taxonomydetail?id=1761. Accessed 1 September 2025.


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