"Chromolaena odorata" is known as a "triffid" throughout the Durban area of South Africa. In the novel, the origin of the triffid species is never explained. Removal of the sticks causes the triffid to physically deteriorate. The community there has thrived, primarily by refining triffid oil into fuel. Siam weed, Christmas bush, devil weed, common floss flower, and triffid. The base of a triffid is a large muscle-like root mass, comprising three blunt appendages. "Triffid" refers to the plant's three "legs", from "trifidus", Latin for "split into three parts".