Data provided by the participants of the Consortium of California Herbaria

View additional distribution information on the Jepson eflora

Bidens frondosa is a North American species of flowering plant in the aster family, sunflower family. It is widespread across much of Canada, the United States, and Mexico It is known in many other parts of the world as an introduced species, including Europe, Asia, Morocco, and New Zealand. Its many common names include devil's beggarticks, devil's-pitchfork, devil's bootjack, sticktights, bur marigold, pitchfork weed, tickseed sunflower, leafy beggarticks, and common beggar-ticks. Bidens frondosa is annual herb is usually about 20 to 60 (8-20 inches) centimeters tall, but it can reach 1. 8 meters (72 inches or 6 feet) at times. 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 up to 6 or 8 centimeters long, sometimes up to 12. 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. It often lacks ray florets but some heads 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. The barbed pappi on the fruit help it stick to animals, facilitating seed dispersal. Ecology. The defoliating caterpillar of Hadjina chinensis, which is limited to Bidens species, has been observed on this plant. Invasive species. This plant is invasive in some parts of the world. In New Zealand it is classed as an environmental weed by the Department of It is also weedy in its native range, occurring in pastures and fields and along roadsides.

Plant type

Annual herb

Size

8 - 48 in Tall

Form

Upright

Growth rate

Fast

Calscape icon
Color

Yellow

Flowering season

Summer

Soil description

Prefers sandy or loamy soils. Does not grow well in clay soils.

Plant communities

Weed (disturbed places), Wetland-Riparian

Caterpillars
Butterflies

Butterflies and moths supported

0 confirmed and 9 likely

Confirmed Likely

Common Eupithacia

Eupithecia miserulata

Sunflower Moth

Homoeosoma electella

Dainty Sulphur

Nathalis iole