Bidens alba | |
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Scientific classification | |
Kingdom: | Plantae |
Clade: | Tracheophytes |
Clade: | Angiosperms |
Clade: | Eudicots |
Clade: | Asterids |
Order: | Asterales |
Family: | Asteraceae |
Genus: | Bidens |
Species: | B. alba |
Binomial name | |
Bidens alba | |
Synonyms | |
Coreopsis albaL. |
Bidens alba, which belongs to the family Asteraceae, is most commonly known as shepherd's needles, beggarticks, Spanish needles, or butterfly needles. [1] Bidens means two- toothed, describing the two projections found at the top of the seeds, and alba refers to the white ray florets. [2] This plant is found in tropical and subtropical regions of North America, Asia, South America, and Africa, [3] situated in gardens, road sides, farm fields and disturbed sites. [4] B. alba is an annual or short-lived perennial, which is considered a weed in the United States. [2] However, B. alba leaves are edible and can be used as medicinal remedies. [1]
Bidens alba is a vascular plant. It has a similar root and stem system to others in the dicot family Asteraceae. [5] After germinating, the roots progress into a tap root that grows vertically in the ground. [1] The primary tissue of the apical meristems increases the length of the plant and the secondary roots of the lateral meristems give rise to the width. B. alba grows to a height of approximately five feet. [2]
The stem of B. alba plant emerges from the taproot, yet the bent stem at the base also has the ability to grow into roots at the lower nodes. Stems are mostly hairless and green to purplish in color. [4] The vascular bundle provides nutrients throughout the plant, with the xylem transporting water from the roots and the phloem obtaining food from the leaves. [2]
Bidens alba leaves, which are simple on the opposite side and compound on the underneath, are 2–10 centimetres (1–4 in) long and 1.0–3.5 cm (3⁄8–1+3⁄8 in) wide. [3] The underside leaf is hairy, and has toothed edges. [4] The leaves may be lobed, depending on the species. Some have teeth and some do not; each node produces two leaves along the stem. [3]
Each flowering head of B. alba, which is small, appears in radial symmetry. [1] The flowers on this plant are depicted as daisy-like due to the larger white petals and the very small yellow flowers which are located at the end of the branches. [5] Colors of the flower-heads of Bidens alba vary depending on the subspecies; some B. alba have yellow, tubular central blossoms and others may have flower-heads with white or cream petals (1.5 cm or 5⁄8 in long); eventually they form black linear seeds, yielding approximately 1200 seeds per plant. [2]
Bidens alba is a fast-growing, fast-spreading weed due to its enormous number of seeds and the ability to re-grow from stems. [3] In sub-tropical to tropical conditions, B. alba can grow almost everywhere in full sun with little or no moisture. The most growth occurs in organic matter with loose soil; [1] however, they can also propagate well on sand and lime-rocks in non-irrigated habitats. The seeds are dispersed mainly by animals or humans, although some are also carried by wind and water. [4]
Bidens alba provide a nectar source for butterflies and honey-bees.
Bidens is a nutrient dense wild plant, boasting a similar nutrient profile to kale - high in fiber and proteins, carotenes, folate, and magnesium. People in South Africa, Zulus, and Indians consume the fresh or dried leaves by boiling them. [3] Young leaves of B. alba may also be eaten as a salad. Bidens alba contains saponins, so older leaves may be unpleasant to the taste and may upset the stomach. [4]
The dried leaves of the B. Alba also make a good tobacco substitute. [4]
The family Asteraceae, with the original name Compositae, consists of over 32,000 known species of flowering plants in over 1,900 genera within the order Asterales. Commonly referred to as the aster, daisy, composite, or sunflower family, Compositae were first described in the year 1740. The number of species in Asteraceae is rivaled only by the Orchidaceae, and which is the larger family is unclear as the quantity of extant species in each family is unknown.
Bidens is a genus of flowering plants in the aster family, Asteraceae. The genus include roughly 230 species which are distributed worldwide. Despite their global distribution, the systematics and taxonomy of the genus has been described as complicated and unorganized. The common names beggarticks, black jack, burr marigolds, cobbler's pegs, Spanish needles, stickseeds, tickseeds and tickseed sunflowers refer to the fruits of the plants, most of which are bristly and barbed. The generic name refers to the same character; Bidens comes from the Latin bis ("two") and dens ("tooth").
Leucanthemum vulgare, commonly known as the ox-eye daisy, oxeye daisy, dog daisy, marguerite and other common names, is a widespread flowering plant native to Europe and the temperate regions of Asia, and an introduced plant to North America, Australia and New Zealand.
A perennial plant or simply perennial is a plant that lives more than two years. The term is often used to differentiate a plant from shorter-lived annuals and biennials. The term is also widely used to distinguish plants with little or no woody growth from trees and shrubs, which are also technically perennials.
Bidens frondosa is a North American species of flowering plant in the aster family, Asteraceae. It is widespread across much of Canada, the United States, and Mexico It is known in many other parts of the world as an introduced species, including Europe, Asia, Morocco, and New Zealand. Its many common names include devil's beggarticks, devil's-pitchfork, devil's bootjack, sticktights, bur marigold, pitchfork weed, tickseed sunflower, leafy beggarticks, and common beggar-ticks.
Cirsium arvense is a perennial species of flowering plant in the family Asteraceae, native throughout Europe and western Asia, northern Africa and widely introduced elsewhere. The standard English name in its native area is creeping thistle. It is also commonly known as Canada thistle and field thistle.
Ranunculus bulbosus, commonly known as bulbous buttercup or St. Anthony's turnip, is a perennial flowering plant in the buttercup family Ranunculaceae. It has bright yellow flowers, and deeply divided, three-lobed long-petioled basal leaves.
In botany, secondary growth is the growth that results from cell division in the cambia or lateral meristems and that causes the stems and roots to thicken, while primary growth is growth that occurs as a result of cell division at the tips of stems and roots, causing them to elongate, and gives rise to primary tissue. Secondary growth occurs in most seed plants, but monocots usually lack secondary growth. If they do have secondary growth, it differs from the typical pattern of other seed plants.
Thunbergia alata, commonly called black-eyed Susan vine, is a herbaceous perennial climbing plant species in the family Acanthaceae. It is native to Eastern Africa, and has been naturalized in other parts of the world.
Chromolaena odorata is a tropical and subtropical species of flowering shrub in the family Asteraceae. It is native to the Americas, from Florida and Texas in the United States south through Mexico and the Caribbean to South America. It has been introduced to tropical Asia, West Africa, and parts of Australia.
Emilia sonchifolia, also known as lilac tasselflower or cupid's shaving brush, is a tropical flowering species of tasselflower in the sunflower family. It is widespread in tropical regions around the world, apparently native to Asia and naturalized in Africa, Australia, the Americas, and various oceanic islands.
Bidens pilosa is an annual species of herbaceous flowering plant in the daisy family Asteraceae. Its many common names include hitch hikers, black-jack, beggarticks, farmer's friends and Spanish needle, but most commonly referred to as cobblers pegs. It is native to the Americas but is widely distributed as an introduced species in other regions worldwide including Eurasia, Africa, Australia, South America and the Pacific Islands. In Chishona, it is called tsine.
This page provides a glossary of plant morphology. Botanists and other biologists who study plant morphology use a number of different terms to classify and identify plant organs and parts that can be observed using no more than a handheld magnifying lens. This page provides help in understanding the numerous other pages describing plants by their various taxa. The accompanying page—Plant morphology—provides an overview of the science of the external form of plants. There is also an alphabetical list: Glossary of botanical terms. In contrast, this page deals with botanical terms in a systematic manner, with some illustrations, and organized by plant anatomy and function in plant physiology.
Important structures in plant development are buds, shoots, roots, leaves, and flowers; plants produce these tissues and structures throughout their life from meristems located at the tips of organs, or between mature tissues. Thus, a living plant always has embryonic tissues. By contrast, an animal embryo will very early produce all of the body parts that it will ever have in its life. When the animal is born, it has all its body parts and from that point will only grow larger and more mature. However, both plants and animals pass through a phylotypic stage that evolved independently and that causes a developmental constraint limiting morphological diversification.
Acalypha rhomboidea is a plant in the spurge family, Euphorbiaceae.
Senecio tamoides, also known as Canary creeper, false grapevine, and parlor ivy, is a climbing member of the genus Senecio of the family Asteraceae that is native to Southern Africa. It is used as an ornamental plant for its showy yellow, daisy-like flowers in late autumn through to winter.
This glossary of botanical terms is a list of definitions of terms and concepts relevant to botany and plants in general. Terms of plant morphology are included here as well as at the more specific Glossary of plant morphology and Glossary of leaf morphology. For other related terms, see Glossary of phytopathology, Glossary of lichen terms, and List of Latin and Greek words commonly used in systematic names.
A stem is one of two main structural axes of a vascular plant, the other being the root. It supports leaves, flowers and fruits, transports water and dissolved substances between the roots and the shoots in the xylem and phloem, photosynthesis takes place here, stores nutrients, and produces new living tissue. The stem can also be called halm or haulm or culms.
Taraxacum is a large genus of flowering plants in the family Asteraceae, which consists of species commonly known as dandelions. The scientific and hobby study of the genus is known as taraxacology. The genus is native to Eurasia and North America, but the two most commonplace species worldwide, T. officinale and T. erythrospermum, were introduced from Europe into North America, where they now propagate as wildflowers. Both species are edible in their entirety. The common name dandelion is also given to specific members of the genus.
Linaria dalmatica is a herbaceous, short-lived perennial plant native to western Asia and southeastern Europe that has become a weed in other areas. The family this plant now belongs to is the Plantaginaceae Family. Previously, it belonged to the Scrophulariaceae (Figwort) family. Its common names include Balkan toadflax, broadleaf toadflax, and Dalmatian toadflax. Linaria dalmatica has unique yellow flowers with an orange center that draw individuals to purchase them to display in their gardens. The distribution of L. dalmatica to North America can be attributed to use as a fabric dye, folk remedies and as an ornamental plant. However, it is now classified as a weed in both Canada and the U.S.A.