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bur-marigold, smooth beggar-ticks, smooth beggartick

slim-lobe beggarticks, slim-lobed beggar-ticks

Habit Annuals (sometimes persisting), (10–)20–60(–120+) cm. Annuals, (10–)20–40 cm.
Leaves

(sometimes in 3s or 4s) sessile;

blades obovate or elliptic to lanceolate or linear, (20–)50–100(–160+) × (5–)10–25(–40+) mm, bases cuneate to rounded, margins usually coarsely dentate to serrate, sometimes ciliate, apices acute to acuminate, faces glabrous.

petioles 5–40 mm;

blades rounded-deltate to ovate overall, 20–50+ × 15–35+ mm, (1–)2–3-pinnatisect, ultimate lobes ± linear, (2–)5–15+ × (0.5–)2–3+ mm, bases ± cuneate, ultimate margins entire, sometimes ciliolate, apices acute to attenuate, faces usually glabrous, sometimes hispidulous.

Peduncles

(10–)20–60 mm.

20–30(–80) mm.

Involucres

turbinate to hemispheric or broader, (4–)6–8(–10+) × 8–12+ mm.

campanulate to hemispheric or broader, (5–)6–7 × 4–8 mm.

Ray florets

usually 7–8, rarely 0;

laminae orange-yellow, (10–)15–25(–30) mm.

0 or 3–6;

laminae yellow, 4–6 mm.

Disc florets

(25–)60–100(–150+);

corollas yellow to orange-yellow, 3–6.5 mm.

(5–)12–20(–45);

corollas yellow, 2–3 mm.

Phyllaries

8–12, ovate or obovate to lance-oblong, (4–)6–8(–10+) mm (tips often orange to purplish, as are tips of paleae).

8, lance-linear, 5–7 mm.

Calyculi

of 5–7(–9+) erect or spreading to reflexed, oblanceolate or lanceolate to linear, often foliaceous bractlets or bracts (6–)10–12(–20+) mm, margins usually ciliate, abaxial faces glabrous or bases hispidulous.

of 6–12 ± appressed, linear bractlets 5–7 mm, margins scabro-ciliate, abaxial faces usually pilosulous to hirsutulous, rarely glabrous.

Heads

(erect at flowering, sometimes nodding in fruit) borne singly or in open, ± corymbiform arrays.

usually borne singly, sometimes in 2s or 3s.

Cypselae

blackish, red-brown, or stramineous, obcompressed, flattened or unequally 3–4-angled, ± cuneate, outer 6–8 mm, inner 8–10 mm, margins retrorsely ciliate or barbed, apices ± truncate to convex, faces ± 1-nerved, ± striate, glabrous;

pappi of 2–4 ± erect, retrorsely barbed awns 3–5 mm.

outer red-brown, flat or weakly 4-angled, linear, 6–8 mm, margins not ciliate, apices somewhat attenuate, faces obscurely 2-grooved, often tuberculate, glabrous or ± strigillose;

inner similar, blackish (sometimes with pale tips), ± equally 4-angled, linear-fusiform, 8–15 mm, margins not ciliate, apices attenuate, faces 2-grooved, glabrous or, toward tips, strigillose;

pappi of 2(–3), spreading to divergent, retrorsely barbed awns (1–)1.5–3 mm.

2n

= 22, 24.

Bidens laevis

Bidens tenuisecta

Phenology Flowering Aug–Oct(–Dec). Flowering (Jul–)Aug–Sep(–Oct).
Habitat Meadows, marshes, and margins of pools, streams, estuaries Meadows, along streams
Elevation 0–2800 m (0–9200 ft) 1800–2600 m (5900–8500 ft)
Distribution
from FNA
AL; AR; AZ; CA; CO; CT; DC; DE; FL; GA; IN; KY; LA; MA; MD; ME; MO; MS; NC; NH; NJ; NM; NV; NY; OH; PA; RI; SC; TN; TX; VA; WV; Mexico; Central America; South America [Introduced Pacific Islands (Hawaii)]
[WildflowerSearch map]
[BONAP county map]
from FNA
AZ; CO; ID; NM; UT; Mexico (Chihuahua)
[WildflowerSearch map]
[BONAP county map]
Discussion

Bidens laevis and B. cernua are similar in gross appearance; specimens of one are sometimes misidentified as the other. Perhaps they represent extremes of a single species.

(Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.)

Reports of Bidens tenuisecta from Maryland, Massachusetts, and New York may be based on ephemeral introductions.

(Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.)

Source FNA vol. 21, p. 215. FNA vol. 21, p. 210.
Parent taxa Asteraceae > tribe Heliantheae > subtribe Coreopsidinae > Bidens Asteraceae > tribe Heliantheae > subtribe Coreopsidinae > Bidens
Sibling taxa
B. amplissima, B. aristosa, B. aurea, B. beckii, B. bidentoides, B. bigelovii, B. bipinnata, B. cernua, B. connata, B. discoidea, B. eatonii, B. frondosa, B. heterodoxa, B. heterosperma, B. hyperborea, B. lemmonii, B. leptocephala, B. mitis, B. pilosa, B. polylepis, B. tenuisecta, B. trichosperma, B. tripartita, B. vulgata
B. amplissima, B. aristosa, B. aurea, B. beckii, B. bidentoides, B. bigelovii, B. bipinnata, B. cernua, B. connata, B. discoidea, B. eatonii, B. frondosa, B. heterodoxa, B. heterosperma, B. hyperborea, B. laevis, B. lemmonii, B. leptocephala, B. mitis, B. pilosa, B. polylepis, B. trichosperma, B. tripartita, B. vulgata
Synonyms Helianthus laevis, B. chrysanthemoides, B. helianthoides, B. nashii, B. quadriaristata
Name authority (Linnaeus) Britton: Prelim. Cat., 29. (1888) A. Gray: Mem. Amer. Acad. Arts, n. s. 4: 86. (1849)
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