Beggar's Ticks, Blackjack, Hairy beggarticks
Bidens pilosa
Family: Asteraceae or Compositae
What it is like
Bidens pilosa is a ANNUAL growing to 1 m (3ft 3in). It is in flower from May to October. The species is hermaphrodite (has both male and female organs) and is pollinated by Bees, hover-flies. Suitable for: light (sandy), medium (loamy) and heavy (clay) soils. Suitable pH: mildly acid, neutral and basic (mildly alkaline) soils. It cannot grow in the shade. It prefers moist soil.
Height (m): 1
Where it is found
Damp lowland fields and wasteland, North and Kermadec Islands. Moist, open neglected places at elevations of 700 - 2000 metres in Nepal.
New Zealand. A pantropical weed.
Conservation Status: This taxon has not yet been assessed.
Countries/locations it is found in
Native to the Americas but it is known widely as an introduced species of other regions, including Eurasia, Africa, Australia, and the Pacific Islands.
How it is used
Food
Rating: 2
Leaves - raw or cooked. A resinous flavour. Added to salads or steamed and added to soups and stews, they can also be dried for later use.A good source of iodine. A nutritional analysis is available. Young shoot tips are used to make a tea.
Tea: the various herb teas that can be used in place of tea, plus the genuine article.
Medicine
Rating: 2
A juice made from the leaves is used to dress wounds and ulcers. A decoction of the leaves is anti-inflammatory, styptic and alterative. The whole plant is antirheumatic, it is also used in enemas to treat intestinal ailments. Substances isolated from the leaves are bactericidal and fungicidal, they are used in the treatment of thrush and candida.
Alterative: Causes a gradual beneficial change in the body, usually through improved nutrition and elimination, without having any marked specific action.
Antifungal: An agent that inhibits or destroys fungi. Used in the treatment of various fungal problems such as candida.
Antiinflammatory: Reduces inflammation of joints, injuries etc.
Antirheumatic: Treats rheumatism.
Styptic: An astringent that stops bleeding by contracting the blood vessels.
Other
Rating: 1
Pesticide.
How it is grown
We have very little information on this species and do not know if it will succeed outdoors in Britain, though it should be possible to grow it as a spring-sown annual. The following notes are based on the general needs of the genus. Succeeds in any moderately fertile moisture-retentive soil in full sun.
Propagating it: Seed - sow early spring in a greenhouse and only just cover the seed. When they are large enough to handle, prick the seedlings out into individual pots and plant them out in May. Alternatively, a sowing in situ in mid to late spring can be tried.
Best place to grow: Cultivated Beds;
Habit: Annual
Hardiness: 0-0
Growth:
Soil: Light (sandy), medium, heavy (clay)
Shade: No shade
Moisture: Moist
Things to keep in mind
The roots, leaves and flowers are strongly phototoxic, the achenes weakly so. Substances isolated from the leaves can kill human skin in the presence of sunlight at concentrations as low as 10ppm.
This plant can be weedy or invasive. Some indication in Hawaii, USA. B. pilosa is native to tropical America but is now a pantropical weed (Wagner et al., 1999). Latin America and eastern Africa have the worst infestations of the weed (Mitich, 1994). It is regarded as a principal weed of sugarcane, maize, coffee, tea, cotton, potatoes, vegetables, bananas, beans and citrus in various Latin American and African countries (Holm et al., 1977) and a serious weed in many other situations. In upland rice in South and South-East Asia, it is common in Thailand and present in Indonesia, Laos, Myanmar, Philippines and Vietnam.
Its other names
Local names
beggar tick; bur marigold; cobbler's pegs; duppy needles; farmer's friend; needle grass; spanish needle; stick tight. Spanish: apestosa (Honduras); chipaca (Colombia); jacalate (Spain); manzanilla del pais (Bolivia); papuga; picon; romerillo blanco (Cuba); rosilla grande (Honduras); vara de jacalate (Spain). French: piquant noirs. Chinese: hsien-feng-tsau; xiang feng cao. Portuguese: amor-de-burro. Angola: olokosso. Argentina: amor seco; espina de erizo; picón; saetilla. Australia: cobbler's pegs. Barbados: spanish needle. Brazil: amor seco; carrapicho-de-duas pontas; coambi; erva-picao; fura-capa; goambu; picao; picao preto; picao-campo; pico-pico. Chile: asta de cabra; cacho de cabra. Colombia: cadillo; masquia; papunga chipaca. Comoros: mtsohova; sindanou. Cook Islands: piripiri. Dominican Republic: margarita silvestre; romerillo. Fiji: batimadramadra; matakaro; matua kamate; mbatikalawau; mbatimandramandra. Germany: Zweizahn, Behaarter. Hawaii: ki; ki nehe; ki pipili; kookoolau; nehe; pilipili. India: cobbler's pegs; dipmal; phutium. Indonesia: adjeran harenga; djaringan ketul. Jamaica: spanish needle. Japan: ko-sendangusa. Kenya: blackjack. Laos: pak kwan cham. Mauritius: herbe villebague. Mexico: acahual; acahual blanco; aceitilla; aceitilla blanco; aceitillo; amapola; amor seco; cadillo; China; cruceta; é de milpa; hierba amarilla; hierba del pollo; iztacmozot; kutsúmu (purépecha); mozoquelite; mozote; mozote blanco; mozotl; quelite amargo blanco; rocía; rocilla; rosilla; saetilla; sepé; sepeke (tarahumara); stuyut; té de milpa blanco; te de playa; tutuk joi'dha (tepehuán); zetya. Myanmar: moat-so-ma-hlan; ne-gya-gale; ta-se-urt. New Caledonia: piquant noirs. New Zealand: cobbler's pegs. Niue: kofe tonga; kofetoga. Northern Mariana Islands: beggar ticks; Guam daisy. Panama: arponcito; cadillo; sirvulaca. Papua New Guinea: kobkob. Peru: amor seco; cadilla; pega-pega; perca. Philippines: dadayem; nguad; panibat; pisau-pisau; puriket; purpurikit; tagab; tubak-tubak. Puerto Rico: margarita; margarita silvestre; romerillo. Saudi Arabia: piquant; sornette zerb lapin. South Africa: blackjack; gewone knapseherel. Taiwan: hsien-feng-tsau. Thailand: puen nok sai; yah koen-jam khao. Tonga: fisi'uli. Trinidad and Tobago: railway daisy; spanish needle. Uruguay: amor seco. USA: beggar ticks; hairy beggarticks; spanish needles. Venezuela: cadillo rocero. Vietnam: cuc trang; su nha long. Zambia: blackjack. Zimbabwe: nyamaradza.