Bidens alba
(Spanish Needles)

Common Names, Latin Name, and Family

Other common names include beggarticks and romerillo.

The Latin name is Bidens alba.

It is in the Asteraceae, or aster family.

Form

A short lived perennial wildflower that grows to about 4 feet in height.

Leaves

Opposite, lanceolate to ovate in shape with toothed margins.

Leaves may be single or pinnately divided into threes.

Flowers

The white blooms appear all year and are a favorite of butterflies and bees.

Fruit / Seeds

The seeds are tiny and thin with a v-shaped prong at the end. The prong has tiny spikes on it that makes it capable of attaching itself to animal fur and human clothing.

Habitat

Bidens alba is found in disturbed sites, roadsides, garden beds, and lawns.

It can be found naturally occurring wherever the wildlife have spread the seeds.

Native Range

It occurs naturally in every county in Florida.

There is some question about its native status but at the date of this article it is still considered native.

It is native to AL, CT, FL, GA, HI, LA, MA, MO, NC, NM, PA, and SC.

It grows in zones 7 – 10.

Landscape Use

It grows in full sun to part shade with average moisture.

It can be planted as a single plant because they get pretty large, or planted in a natural area. It can be well behaved in a flower bed with only the occasion trimming to keep the shape you want.

Wildlife Use

Bees and butterflies use the flowers as a nectar source.

Small mammals, and birds, eat new growth and unopened flower buds.

If you garden for butterflies then you will appreciate that this wildflower (Bidens alba) is a larval host plant for the dainty sulfur butterfly (Nathalis iole).