Galinsoga parviflora is an herbaceous plant in the Asteraceae family. It has several common names including guasca, mielcilla, galinsoga, gallant soldier, quickweed, and potato weed.
 
MEDICINAL BENEFITS AND USES
Galinsoga is extremely effective in treatment of wounds. The juice of galinsoga helps blood to coagulate faster and also acts as an antibiotic agent. Some people claim that usage of galinsoga helps wounds heal faster. Even though galinsoga is considered a weed, it is an extremely useful herb.
 
GALLANT SOLDIER IS AN EDIBLE HERB
The leaves, stem and flowering shoots - raw or cooked and eaten as a potherb, or added to salads,  soups and stews. They can be dried and ground into a powder then used as a flavouring in soups etc.
 
Flowering from October-April it likes to grow amongst your vegetables and flowers in cultivated land, pasture and waste places in sun and partial shade. It is named after a man called M.M. Galinsoga an 18th Century Spanish physician; parviflora is Latin for small flowers.
 
It is not that common all over NZ yet but once you have it in the garden it is usually there to stay. It is native to South America and known as Guascas in Colombia, being an essential ingredient in Bogota chicken and potato stew/soup called ajiaco.