Kansas Wildflowers and Grasses

SPANISH NEEDLES

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Bidens bipinnata L.

Cowley County, Kansas

Annual

Height: 1-5 feet

Family: Asteraceae - Sunflower Family

Flowering Period: August, September,October

Stems:

Erect, slender, branching above, 4-angled, glabrous to minutely bristled.

Leaves:

Opposite, thin, pinnately divided 2 or 3 times, 1 to 6 inches long, 1/2 to 5 inches wide; stalk 1 to 2 inches long; leaflets ovate-lanceolate or oblong, toothed or lobed; tips tapering to points.

Inflorescences:

Heads, few to many, single or in clusters of 2-3, about 1/4 inch across, terminal on slender stalks; outer bracts linear; inner bracts linear-lanceolate, slightly longer.

Flowers:

Ray florets often 4 or fewer (sometimes no ray florets present), yellow, ligules less than 1/5 inch long; disk florets yellow.

Fruits:

Achene, narrowly-linear, 4-angled, 1/2 to 3/4 inch long, dark brown to blackish, tapering to point, enclosing seed; pappus of 2-4 barbed awns, straw-colored.

Habitat:

Partially shaded, damp disturbed or waste areas, gardens and cultivated fields; moist soils.

Distribution:

East 4/5 of Kansas.

Forage Value:

Pheasants and quail eat the seeds.

Uses:

The leaves of young plants were used by Native Americans as a source of greens.

Comments:

The common name refers to the barbed awns that will penetrate clothing and fur.

Spanish needles florets