Bidens frondosa

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Bidens frondosa

Secure (NatureServe)
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Tracheophytes
Clade: Angiosperms
Clade: Eudicots
Clade: Asterids
Order: Asterales
Family: Asteraceae
Genus: Bidens
Species:
B. frondosa
Binomial name
Bidens frondosa
Synonyms[1]

Bidens melanocarpa Wiegand

Bidens frondosa is a North American species of flowering plant in the aster family, Asteraceae. It is widespread across much of Canada, the United States, and Mexico[2][3][4] It is known in many other parts of the world as an introduced species, including Europe, Asia, Morocco, and New Zealand.[2][5][6] Its many common names include devil's beggarticks, devil's-pitchfork, devil's bootjack, sticktights, bur marigold, pitchfork weed, tickseed sunflower,[7] leafy beggarticks,[8] and common beggar-ticks.[9]

Habitat and range[edit]

Bidens frondosa grows best where there is ample soil moisture and sun, especially in areas where something has disrupted the existing plant community leaving bare ground. It can survive in water saturated soils, frequently found growing at the water's edge, in drainage ditches or on flood plains.[10][11]

According to Plants of the World Online (POWO) the natural range of Bidens frondosa is recorded as the whole of the continental United States except for Montana as well as all of Canada except for Labrador and the three Arctic territories.[12] The USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service PLANTS database (PLANTS) agrees with the natural range in America, but lists it as an introduced plant for Canada.[13] POWO lists the areas of the world where it is growing as an introduced plant as all of Europe except for Greece, Ireland, Iceland, Russia, Sweden, and Finland as well as Turkey, parts of Russia, China, Tadzhikistan, and the Caucasus.[12]

Ecology[edit]

The defoliating caterpillar of Hadjina chinensis, which is limited to Bidens species, has been observed on this plant.[14]

Bidens frondosa flowering head
Bidens frondosa leaf

Morphology[edit]

Bidens frondosa is an annual herb, usually growing to 20–60 cm (8–24 in) tall, but it may reach 1.8 m (6 ft). The stems are square in cross-section and may branch near the top. The leaves are pinnate, divided into a few toothed triangular or lance-shaped leaflets usually 6–8 cm (2+12–3 in) long, exceptionally up to 12 cm (4+12 in). The inflorescence is often a solitary flower head, but there may be pairs or arrays of several heads. The head contains many orange disc florets. Most flower heads lack ray florets but some may have a few small yellow rays. The fruit is a flat black or brown barbed cypsela up to a centimeter long which has two obvious hornlike pappi at one end.[3][8][15][16]

The barbed pappi on the fruit help it stick to animals, facilitating seed dispersal.[15]

Invasive species[edit]

This plant is invasive in some parts of the world. In New Zealand it is classed as an environmental weed by the Department of Conservation.[17] It is also weedy in its native range, occurring in pastures and fields and along roadsides.[15]

References[edit]

  1. ^ The Plant List, Bidens frondosa L.
  2. ^ a b "Bidens frondosa". Germplasm Resources Information Network. Agricultural Research Service, United States Department of Agriculture. Retrieved 4 January 2018.
  3. ^ a b Bidens frondosa. Flora of North America.
  4. ^ Biota of North America Program 2014 state-level distribution map
  5. ^ Flora of China, 大狼杷草 da lang pa cao, Bidens frondosa Linnaeus, Sp. Pl. 2: 832. 1753.
  6. ^ Altervista Flora Italiana, Forbicina fogliosa, schwarzfrüchtiger Zweizahn, Bidens frondosa L.
  7. ^ Bidens frondosa. Integrated Taxonomic Information System (ITIS).
  8. ^ a b Bidens frondosa. Burke Museum. University of Washington.
  9. ^ Bidens frondosa. Archived 2007-07-02 at the Wayback Machine Freckmann Herbarium. University of Wisconsin, Stevens Point.
  10. ^ Hilty, John. "Common Beggar-Ticks (Bidens frondosa)". www.illinoiswildflowers.info. Retrieved 11 October 2018.
  11. ^ Popay, Ian. "Bidens frondosa (beggarticks)". Invasive Species Compendium. CAB International. Retrieved 12 October 2018.
  12. ^ a b "Bidens frondosa L." Plants of the World Online. Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. Retrieved 18 October 2023.
  13. ^ Bidens frondosa, USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service PLANTS Profile, 18 October 2023
  14. ^ Han, Y. G., et al. (2009). Insect herbivores associated with the introduced weed Bidens frondosa L.(Asteraceae) in Korea, and their potential role as augmentative biological control agents. Entomological Research 39(6), 394-400.
  15. ^ a b c Devils Beggarticks or Stick-tights: Bidens frondosa. Archived 2013-06-24 at the Wayback Machine Virginia Tech Weed Identification Guide.
  16. ^ Bidens frondosa. The Jepson eFlora 2013.
  17. ^ Howell, C. (May 2008). Consolidated List of Environmental Weeds in New Zealand. 292. Wellington, New Zealand: Department of Conservation. ISBN 978-0-478-14413-0.

External links[edit]