Bidens pilosa L.

Locations ofBidens pilosa L. in Virginia

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Detail

Family
Asteraceae
Botanical Name
Bidens pilosa L.
Common Name
Hairy Beggar-ticks, Common Beggar-ticks
Synonym(s)
Bidens alba (L.) DC. var. radiata (Schultz) Ballard ex T.E. Melchert; Bidens pilosa L., s.s.
Flora of Virginia Name/Status
in Taxa Not Treated: Waifs (as Bidens alba (L.) A. DC. var. radiata (Schultz) Ballard ex T.E. Melchert)
Comments
This Bidens is an adventive in Virginia, with only a few documented occurrences whose exact taxonomic disposition is uncertain. Flora of the Southeastern U.S. (Weakley et al. 2023) recognizes Bidens alba var. radiata and Bidens pilosa separately. Some of our plants are rayless, which would place them in Bidens pilosa L., sensu stricto; others have ray flowers and could be either B. pilosa s.s. or B. alba var. radiata. Until we figure out more definitively what we have, the treatement here follows Strother and Weedon (2006, FNA21) who use a broader circumscription of B. pilosa that includes B. alba.
Habitat
Sandy field edges, gardens, waste ground, and roadsides; introduced from the New World Tropics. This species has been reported as a contaminant in seed packs of French Marigold (Tagetes patula) (W.J. Hayden, pers. comm.).
Native Status
Introduced

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