Bidens bipinnata L.

Spanish Needles

Herb

Annual

Vascular

Spanish Needles is a native herbaceous annual in the Sunflower family (Asteraceae). It is native to all of Alabama. Spanish Needles occur on roadsides, in disturbed forests, in fields, in pastures, and in other disturbed sites. It is an annual with a tap root. The stems are 1-4 feet in height, green in color, branched above, and glabrous. The leaves are petiolate and pinnately dissected. The leaf segments are elliptic to lanceolate in outline and glabrous. Flowers are produced in heads. The heads are arranged in corymbs. Each head has 0-5 small yellow ray flowers and 10-20 yellow disc flowers. The fruit is a black achene. The achene is fusiform in shape with 3-4 barbed awns at the apex. Spanish Needles is a common weedy species of disturbed sites. The flower heads are greenish in color with no or only a few small ray flowers, making this species easy to overlook. Most people first notice this species when they discover the achenes attached to their clothing or their pet’s fur.--A. Diamond

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Native G5 (Global Rank)

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