Wild Weeds – Weed of the Month

Spanish Needles

Bidens Alba

Spanish Needles, Beggarticks, and many other names can be given to this plant. It reproduces prolifically with it’s generous seeds that stick to anything and everything nearby, a single plant can produce 3,000-6,000 seeds. It is a wonderful wildflower for pollinators and is a larval host for the Dainty sulphur butterfly. Bidens Alba is the third most common source of nectar for honey production in the state.

The scientific name Bidens means two-tooth referring to the two hooked ends of the seed which allows it to cling to things.

Learn more about the plant characteristics here: https://www.flawildflowers.org/flower-friday-bidens-alba/

Check out other Wild Weeds Here: http://blogs.ifas.ufl.edu/bakerco/tag/wild-weeds/ 

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