Weed Information: Bidens vulgata (beggarticks, tall)
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Bidens vulgata (beggarticks, tall)

Family: Asteraceae

Description

A coarse annual with 3-5 leaflets per leaf. The stems often red to purple. Very similar in most regards to Bidens frondosa (devils beggarticks) but with 10-16 (mostly 13) involucral bracts and olive to yellowish-brown seeds.

Characteristics

Flower Color
  • 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
  • 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% - 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)
Leaf or Leaflet Blade Surface
  • Glabrous (NO hairs)
  • Puberulent
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)
  • Erect, spherical (bushy)
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
  • Hollow (flowering stem at maturity)
  • Ridged
Flowering Stem Leaves
  • Stem leaves greatly reduced
  • Stem uniformly leafy
Main Stem Branches
  • Main stem branched

Root or Vegetative Propagule
  • Fibrous

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

  • Gilkey`s Weeds of the Pacific Northwest, 1980 (ISBN 0-88246-039-0) See page: 319
  • Manual of Ohio Weeds, 1931 Ohio Ag. Exp. Station Bull. # 475, See page: 97
  • Nebraska Weeds, 1979 Nebraska Dept. of Ag., Lincoln NE, See page: 230
  • Ontario Weeds, 1992 Agdex 640, Publication #505 See page: 212
  • Weed Seeds of the Great Plains, 1993 University of Kansas# 92-125-B ISBN# 0-7006-0651-3 See index #: 200
  • Weeds, 1955 (1980) Walter Conrad Muenscher, ISBN# 0-8014-1266-8 See page: 435, 437
  • Weeds of California and other Western States, 2007 (ISBN 13: 978-1-879906-69-3) See Page: 215
  • Weeds of Nebraska and the Great Plains, 1994 (ISBN 0939870-00-4) See page: 97
  • 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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