Bidens frondosa

Bidens frondosa
Devil's Beggarticks
Bidens frondosa var. frondosa
Conservation status

Secure (NatureServe)
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Plantae
(unranked): Angiosperms
(unranked): Eudicots
(unranked): Asterids
Order: Asterales
Family: Asteraceae
Subfamily: Asteroideae
Tribe: Heliantheae
Subtribe: Coreopsidinae
Genus: Bidens
Species: B. frondosa
Binomial name
Bidens frondosa
L.

Devil's Beggarticks (Bidens frondosa) is an annual herb in the family Asteraceae, native to North America. It is known by a variety of different names, including Common Beggarticks, Common Tickseed, Large-leaved Beggarticks, Devil's Bootjack, Devil's Pitchfork, and Pitchfork Weed.

It is up to 2 m tall, usually with reddish stems. Its flowers are yellow, produced in early autumn, followed by numerous seeds with hooked barbs that attach onto passing animals' fur or clothing or sometimes even skin which allow the seeds to be dispersed widely. The seeds look similar to a tick and give this plant part of its most popular common name.

Invasive species

This plant is invasive in some parts of the world. In Europe it is considered "an important threat to plant health, the environment and biodiversity"[1] and in New Zealand it is classed as an environmental weed by the Department of Conservation.[2]

References

  1. ^ EPPO - Invasive alien plants - EPPO Lists and documentation
  2. ^ Howell, Clayston (May 2008). Consolidated list of environmental weeds in New Zealand. 292. Wellington, NZ.: Department of Conservation. ISBN 978-0-478-14413-0. 

External links

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