Weed Information: Bidens frondosa (beggarticks, devils)
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Bidens frondosa (beggarticks, devils)

Family: Asteraceae

Description

Plants of wet areas, with 3-5 deeply parted leaves with serrate leaflets. The seeds with 2 terminal spines. Very similar to Bidens vulgata (tall beggarticks) but with 5-10 (usually 8) involucral bracts and black or dark brown seeds.

Characteristics

Flower Color
  • Orange
  • Yellow-orange
  • Yellow
  • Brown/Black
  • Multi-colored
Inflorescence Type (How the flowers are arranged on the plant)
  • Head
  • Panicle
  • Solitary, axillary
Number of Petals
  • 0 (no petals)
  • 5 petals
  • more than 10 petals
Petal Separation
  • Completely free to base
  • United > 75% of length
Petal Tip
  • Pointed
  • Rounded
Flower Symmetry
  • Flowers regular
Flower Length (Head length in the Asteraceae)
  • 8 mm (.32 inch)
  • 9 mm (.36 inch)
  • 1.0 cm (.40 inch)
  • 1.5 cm (.6 inch)
Flower Width (Head width in the Asteraceae)
  • 8 mm (.32 inch)
  • 9 mm (.36 inch)
  • 1.0 cm (.40 inch)
  • 1.5 cm (.60 inch)
  • 2.0 cm (.80 inch)
  • 2.5 cm (1.0 inch)
Number of Sepals
  • sepals lacking
  • 5 sepals
  • 6 sepals
  • 7 sepals
  • 8 sepals
  • 9 sepals
  • 10 sepals
  • more than 10 sepals
Sepal Separation
  • Completely free to base
Sepal Tip
  • Pointed
  • Rounded
Flower Sex
  • Bisexual (perfect)
Number of Styles
  • 1 style
Number of Stamens
  • 5 stamens
Stamens Attached to the Petals
  • Stamens attached to the petals
Stamens Connate (united)
  • Anthers united, syngynoecious

Carpel Separation
  • Carpels united (or one)
Number of Carpels
  • 1 carpel
Ovary Position
  • Inferior (epigynous)
Fruit Type
  • Achene
Fruit Length at Maturity
  • 5 mm (.20 inch)
  • 6 mm (.24 inch)
  • 7 mm (.28 inch)
  • 8 mm (.32 inch)
  • 9 mm (.36 inch)
  • 1.0 cm (.40 inch)
Fruit Width at Maturity
  • 2 mm (.08 inch)
  • 3 mm (.12 inch)
  • 4 mm (.16 inch)
Burs
  • Fruit or seed bur-like

Leaf Arrangement
  • Opposite
Leaf Type
  • Compound odd pinnate < 8 leaflets
  • Trifoliolate (3 leaflets)
Stipules
  • Lacking
Tendrils
  • Tendrils absent
Venation
  • Pinnate
Petiole (leaf stem) Blade Ratio
  • Petiole < 25% total length
  • Petiole 25% - 75% total length
Leaf Length (blade PLUS petiole)
  • 4 - 10 cm (1.60 - 4.0 inches)
  • 1 - 2 dm (4.0 - 8.0 inches)
Leaf Width
  • 4 - 10 cm (1.6 - 4.0 inches)
  • 1 - 2 dm (4.0 - 8.0 inches)
Leaf or Leaflet Margin
  • Dentate
  • Serrate
Leaf or Leaflet Blade Base
  • Acute (cuneate)
  • Acuminate (attenuate)
Leaf or Leaflet Tip
  • Acuminate (attenuate)
  • Acute
Leaf or Leaflet Blade Surface
  • Glabrous (NO hairs)
  • Lower leaf surface more hairy
  • Sparsely hairy
Succulence
  • Not succulent

Milky Juice
  • Juice NOT milky (watery)
Woodiness
  • Herbaceous
Spines or Thorns
  • Spines or Thorns ABSENT
Aromatic (vegetative structures)
  • Not aromatic
Life Cycle
  • Annual
Growth Habit (while flowering)
  • Erect, columnar (narrow)
Plant Height at Maturity
  • 2 - 4 dm (8.0 - 16.0 inches)
  • 4 - 6 dm (1.3 - 2.0 feet)
  • 6 - 8 dm (2.0 - 2.6 feet)
  • 8 - 10 dm (2.6 - 3.3 feet)
  • 1 - 1.5 meters (3.3 - 5.0 feet)
Wind Dissemination
  • Not wind disseminated
Moisture Regime
  • Semi-aquatic
  • Seasonally saturated
Chlorophyll
  • Present

Stem Cross Section
  • Ridged
  • Round
Flowering Stem Leaves
  • Stem uniformly leafy
Main Stem Branches
  • Main stem branched

Root or Vegetative Propagule
  • Fibrous

US State
  • Alabama
  • Arkansas
  • Connecticut
  • Delaware
  • Florida
  • Georgia
  • Illinois
  • Kansas
  • Kentucky
  • Louisiana
  • Massachusetts
  • Maine
  • Michigan
  • Missouri
  • Mississippi
  • North Carolina
  • New Hampshire
  • New Jersey
  • New York
  • Ohio
  • Pennsylvania
  • South Carolina
  • Tennessee
  • Texas
  • Virginia
  • Wisconsin
  • West Virginia
  • Indiana
  • Maryland
  • Rhode Island
  • Vermont
  • Alaska
  • Arizona
  • California
  • Colorado
  • Iowa
  • Idaho
  • Minnesota
  • Montana
  • North Dakota
  • New Mexico
  • Nevada
  • Oklahoma
  • Oregon
  • South Dakota
  • Utah
  • Washington
  • Wyoming
  • Nebraska
Canadian Province or Territory
  • British Columbia
  • New Brunswick
  • Nova Scotia
  • Ontario
  • Prince Edward Island
  • Quebec
  • Alberta
  • Manitoba
  • Newfoundland
  • Saskatchewan
Other
  • District of Columbia

  • Common Weeds of the United States, 1971 (ISBN 0-486-20504-5) See page: 378
  • Field Guide To The Common Weeds Of Kansas, 1983 (ISBN 0-7006-0233-X) See page: 109
  • Gilkey`s Weeds of the Pacific Northwest, 1980 (ISBN 0-88246-039-0) See page: 319
  • How to Know the Weeds, 1972, (ISBN# 0-697-04880-2) See page: 195
  • Manual of Ohio Weeds, 1931 Ohio Ag. Exp. Station Bull. # 475, See page: 95
  • South Dakota Weeds, 1967 South Dakota State University, See page: 191
  • South Dakota Weeds 2002 South Dakota Dept. of Ag. 523 E. Capitol, Foss Bldg. Pierre, South Dakota 57501 See page: 197
  • S.W.S.S. Weed ID Guide, 1993 Section Number and Five letter code: 13 BIDFR
  • Weed Seeds of the Great Plains, 1993 University of Kansas# 92-125-B ISBN# 0-7006-0651-3 See index #: 199
  • Weeds, 1955 (1980) Walter Conrad Muenscher, ISBN# 0-8014-1266-8 See page: 435, 436
  • Weeds, A Golden Guide, 1972 ISBN#0-307-24353-2 See page: 135
  • Weeds of California, 1970, State of California Publications and Documents. See page: 432
  • Weeds of California and other Western States, 2007 (ISBN 13: 978-1-879906-69-3) See Page: 213
  • Weeds of Colorado, 1990 Cooperative Extension, Colorado State Univ. Bulletin 521A, See page: 156
  • Weeds of Eastern Washington and Adjacent Areas, 1972 (LOC 72-83635) See page: 276
  • Weeds of Nebraska and the Great Plains, 1994 (ISBN 0939870-00-4) See page: 96
  • Weeds of New Jersey, 1929 New Jersey Ag. Exp. Station Circular #219, See page: 31
  • Weeds of the Midwestern United States & Central Canada, University of Georgia 2010, ISBN#0-8203-3506-1 See page: 69
  • Weeds of the North Central States, 1981 Univ. of Illinois, Urbana - Champaign Bulletin # 772, See page: 193
  • Weeds of the Northeast, 1956, Univ. of Delaware Field Manual #1 See species #: 354
  • Weeds of the Northeast, 1997 Cornell University ISBN# 0-8014-8334-4 See page: 122
  • Weeds of the South, University of Georgia 2009, ISBN#0-8203-3046-9 See page: 58
  • Weeds of the United States and Their Control, Lorenzi 1987, ISBN# 0-442-25884-4 See page: 299
  • Weeds of the West, 1992 (ISBN 0941570-13-4) See page: 73
  • Weeds of the West, 2000 (ISBN 0941570-13-4) See page: 77
  • Weeds of Utah, 1971 UAES Special Report 21, See page: 92
  • Wildly Successful Plants, A Handbook of North American Weeds, 1977 (ISBN# 0-02-528850-4) See page: 24, 161
  • Listed as a `Weed` by the Biota of North America Program, 2008 X
  • Listed in the WSSA Composite List of Weeds X
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