• Widespread. Asia, Africa. North, South and Central America, Caribbean, Oceania. In most Pacific islands.
• Aggressive, invasive plant, fast-growing, capable of forming dense thickets. Able to grow in variety of soil types in forests, pastures, waste ground, swamps, waterways, roadsides, coastal dunes, plantations. Seeds easily spread.
• Erect, long-lived shrub, up to 2 m tall. Young stems green, with star-shaped hairs; older, woody. Leaves, alternate along the stems, up to 10 cm long. Lower leaves of  variable shapes, uppermost smaller; all with toothed margins, pointed tips, and star-shaped hairs. Flowers, pink, 1.5-2 cm, single, with five reddish-pink petals, numerous stamens and branched style. Fruit, splits into five, 1-seeded segments, with hairs and spines.  
• Spread: burrs, by animals; clothing; water; soil, produce, vehicles.
• Biosecurity: high risk of introductions on clothing. Noxious weed in Cuba, Fiji, USA.
• Biocontrol: little known.
• Cultural control: hand weeding; vehicle hygiene.
• Chemical control: in Australia: MCPA. In Fiji, glyphosate.

Urena burr; it is also known as caesar weed, Chinese burr, Indian mallow, or Congo jute. CABI prefers caesar weed.

Urena lobata. Another species, Urena sinuata, is considered to be the same as Urena lobata by some taxonomists. A member of the Malvaceae.