Spanish Needles
Common Names: Beggarticks, Spanish needles and romerillo.
Latin Name: Bidens alba
Family: Asteraceae
Habit: 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.
Habitat: Disturbed sites.
Landscape: It grows in full sun to part shade with average moisture.
Range: It is native to AL, CT, FL, GA, HI, LA, MA, MO, NC, NM, PA, and SC.
It grows in zones 7 – 10.
Wildlife use: Bees and butterflies use the flowers as a nectar source. Small mammals, and birds, eat new growth and unopened flower buds.
Spanish needle (Bidens alba) is a larval food for the dainty sulfur butterfly (Nathalis iole).
