Devil's Beggarticks

Devil's Beggarticks, Tall Beggarticks

Bidens frondosa L.

Asteraceae (Aster Family)

▲ ▼ seedlings

▲ ▼ young plants

▲ ▼ mature plants and leaves

▲ ▼ flowering plants

▲ flower

Bidens frondosa L., Devil’s Beggarticks: (Bayer Code: BIDFR; US Code BIFR)

Native summer annual that grows 1-5 feet tall and has squarish stem
Has opposite, deeply pinnately-lobed leaves with 3-7 lanceolate lobes with serrate margins
Flower heads usually lack ray flowers and has 20-100 yellow disk flowers
Seed is short and fat with 2-3 barbs attached to tip that let it attach to passing animals
Commonly found in rich, moist soils, disturbed sites, roadsides, not in cultivated fields
Some similar species:
- Spanish Needles (Bidens bipinnata) has finely-divided (bipinnately compound) leaves, 1-5 very short (0.25 inch) ray flowers (petals) per head and long, slender, needle-like seeds with burs at their tip
- Nodding Beggarticks (Bidens cernua) has simple lanceolate leaves with toothed, lanceolate leaflets, 6-8 ray showy flowers (petals) per head and burs and seeds similar to devil’s beggarticks
- Tickseed Beggarticks (Bidens aristosa) has pinnately compound leaves with toothed, lanceolate leaflets (leaflets often more narrow than devils beggarticks) and 6-8 showy ray flowers (petals) per head and triangular, 2-burred seeds
- Swamp Beggarticks (Bidens tripartita) has simple lanceolate leaves with toothed margins, sometimes with 3 deep lobes; flowers lack ray flowers; it often grows in wet soils near ponds, lakes, rivers

(Updated January 19, 2019)