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Close up of stem and seed heads
Close up of leaves
Bidens
comosa
Common Name of Genus:
Beggar-Ticks
Family: Compositae
Leaves: The leaves are opposite each other and have serrated edges.
Flowers: The flowers have yellow colored rays, which are about 1.5 cm long. The petals can be slightly serrated. Flowers between August and October.
Seeds: Seeds are about 5-8 mm long and have three barbed awns at the end. This allows them to attach to animal fur and human clothing.
Stem: Smooth with a reddish color.
Branching Pattern: Opposite
Height: 1-4 feet tall
Conditions/Habitat/Kind of Forest: Found in areas with moist soil, such as wet meadows, marshes and along shores. It can tolerate soil with a pH of 5.0 to 7.0. It it also partially shade tolerant.
Known Wildlife Interactions: The seed are dispersed by attaching to animal fur or people's clothing and then falling off some distance from the parent plant. The seeds are also eaten by birds, including ducks. While, the plant is eaten by muskrats.
Range: North Dakota to Maine and South
Conservation Status-US/ World Wide: Not threatened in US or globally.
Uses (Human): None
References:
Moran, Mark. Study of North Virginia Ecology: Beggar-tick. Fairfax County Public Schools. Accessed: February 28, 2006. <http://www.fcps.k12.va.us/StratfordLandingES/Ecology/mpages/devils_beggar-tick.htm>
Wetland Plants ad Plant Communities of Minnesota and Wisconsin: Beggartick. USGS. Accessed: February 28, 2006 <http://www.npwrc.usgs.gov/resource/plants/mnplant/bice.htm>
Peterson, Roger T., MicKenny, Margaret. Wildflowers: Northeast/ North-Central Amercia. Peterson Field Guides.1996. pg 168
The Pennsylvania Flora Project. Botany Department, Morris Arboretum of the University of Pennsylvania. Accessed: January 20, 2006. <http://www.paflora.org>
IUCN Red List of Threatened Species <http://www.iucnredlist.org>