Parthenium integrifolium, commonly known as wild quinine, produces an abundance of white, pearl-like flowers on 2- to 3-foot-tall plants with broad, rough-textured leaves. Native to the tallgrass prairies, it thrives when grown in full sun and moist soils in garden settings. Beetles find the pollen tasty, while a number of bee species prefer the nectar.

This genus is a member of the aster family, but it lacks the colorful ray flowers that make sunflowers and asters so distinctive. The genus name is based upon the ancient Greek parthenos (virgin), referring to the production of seeds by only female florets. Based upon Native American medicinal uses of this species, it was used in World War I as a substitute for the bark of the South American Chinchona sp. (quinine) to treat malaria. Guayule (Parthenium argentatum), another member of this genus, was used in World War II to produce rubber in the American southwest. A third species produces a pollen that poisons the stigmas of surrounding species to ensure its dominance in the plant community.