Overview
Bidens frondosa is an erect annual 1-4 feet (30-120 cm) tall with branching, four-angled stems that are often flushed purple. The leaves are pinnately divided into three to five lance-shaped, sharply toothed leaflets on slender stalks, mid-green and thin in texture. From late summer into autumn it carries small flower heads about 0.3-0.6 inch (8-15 mm) wide, each with a flat orange-yellow disc and a ring of leaf-like green bracts that spread out beneath and beyond the head; ray florets are usually absent or tiny. The flat, wedge-shaped seeds bear two barbed prongs at the tip that catch on clothing, fur, and feathers, which is the source of the beggarticks name and the plant's main means of dispersal. B. frondosa grows in wet, disturbed ground, including ditches, pond edges, floodplains, and damp waste places across much of North America. It self-seeds heavily and can colonise bare wet soil quickly. The clinging seeds make it a nuisance near paths and pasture.
Native Range
Bidens frondosa is native across most of North America, from Canada south through the United States into Mexico. It grows in wet, open, often disturbed habitats such as ditches, marsh edges, and floodplains, and has become a naturalised weed in Europe and Asia.Suggested Uses
Rarely planted deliberately, it appears in wetland restoration and as a nectar and seed source for insects and birds in damp ground. It is used occasionally in conservation seed mixes for wet, disturbed sites. Most often it is treated as a volunteer of ditches and pond margins.How to Identify
Appearance
Size & Dimensions
Height1' - 4'
Width/Spread1' - 2'
Bloom Information
Detailed Descriptions
Foliage Description
greenGrowing Conditions
Sun Requirements
Requires 4-12 hours of direct sunlight daily
• Full Sun: 6+ hours of direct sunlight
• Partial Shade: 3-6 hours of direct sunlight
• Full Shade: Less than 3 hours of direct sunlight
Water & Climate
Water Needs