It has several common names including guasca (Colombia), pacpa yuyo, paco yuyo, and waskha (Peru), burrionera (Ecuador), albahaca silvestre and saetilla (Argentina), mielcilla (Costa Rica), piojito (Oaxaca, Mexico), galinsoga (New Zealand), gallant soldier,[5][6] quickweed,[6] and potato weed (United Kingdom, United States).

Galinsoga parviflora was brought from Peru to Kew Gardens in 1796, and later escaped to the wild in Great Britain and Ireland, being temporarily known as the 'Kew Weed'.

[7] The plant is named after the Spanish botanist Ignacio Mariano Martinez de Galinsoga.

[1] In Oaxaca, Mexico it is used as an ingredient in sopa de guías, a soup made from squash vines, fresh corn and wild herbs.

In eastern Africa, the plant is collected from the wild, and its leaves, stem and flowers eaten.