Pereskia sacharosa The Gran Chaco including Mato Grosso region (Brazil, Bolivia, Paraguay), and lowlands of the Andes in northwestern Argentina at elevations of 1000–2500 m.
It can be controlled by Triclopyr or biological control with the leaf-feeding flea-beetle, Phenrica guérini, which has caused significant damage to Pereskia plants at Port Alfred, Eastern Cape, South Africa, but although the beetle was also released widely in KwaZulu-Natal, it has not become established there.