It's an invasive species. It's called "famine weed" because it can cause a disastrous collapse in crops. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Parthenium_hysterophorus

It's an invasive species. It's called "famine weed" because it can cause a disastrous collapse in crops. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Parthenium_hysterophorus https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Parthenium_hysterophorus > It infests pastures and farmland, causing often disastrous loss of yield, as reflected in common names such as famine weed. It aggressively colonises disturbed ground. It is one of the hundred most invasive species in the world. It causes huge losses in crop production. https://www.cabi.org/isc/datasheet/45573 https://www.cabi.org/isc/datasheet/45573 > arthenium hysterophorus is an annual herb that aggressively colonizes disturbed sites. It is considered as one of the ‘100 most invasive species in the world’ by the IUCN > In India, the yield losses are reported as up to 40% in several crops and a 90% reduction of forage production (Gnanavel, 2013). Parthenium hysterophorus is now being reported from India as a serious problem in cotton, groundnuts, potatoes and sorghum, as well as in more traditional crops such as okra (Abelmoschus esculentus), brinjal (Solanum melongena), chickpea and sesame (Kohli and Rani, 1994), and is also proving to be problematic in a range of orchard crops, including vineyards, olives, cashew, coconut, guava, mango and papaya (Tripathi et al., 1991; Mahadevappa, 1997; Gnanavel, 2013). They are not fear mongering. This is a calm, evidence based, bit of research about a very worrying species.