pyrethrum, any of certain plant species of the genus Tanacetum, native to southwestern Asia, whose aromatic flower heads, when powdered, constitute the active ingredient in the insecticide called pyrethrin, or pyrethrum. The plants were formerly considered a separate genus, Pyrethrum. The typical species, the perennial T. coccineum, is the florists’ pyrethrum, commonly called painted lady. Large deep rose-coloured petals surrounding the yellow centre, or disk, are borne on long simple stems above the crown of finely cut leaves. Modern varieties exhibit various colours—white, lilac, and shades of red.
The powdered flower heads of T. coccineum, T. cinerariifolium, and T. marschalli are chief sources of the insecticide. The active substances in pyrethrum are contact poisons for insects and cold-blooded vertebrates. The concentrations of pyrethrum powder used in insecticides are nontoxic to plants and higher animals; therefore, these insecticides find wide use in household and livestock sprays as well as in dusts for edible plants.