Bidens

  • Authority

    Acevedo-Rodríguez, Pedro. 2005. Vines and climbing plants of Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands. Contr. U. S. Natl. Herb. 51: 1-483.

  • Family

    Asteraceae

  • Scientific Name

    Bidens

  • Description

    Description - Annual or perennial herbs, less frequently shrubs or vines. Stems usually striate. Leaves opposite; blades simple or compound; petioles and rachis narrowly winged or absent. Inflorescences terminal, with one to numerous pedunculate capitula; capitula heterogamous, generally radiate or discoid, with numerous flowers; involucre crateriform, with 2 series of unequal phyllaries, the outer ones green and narrow, the inner ones brown, with hyaline margins. Marginal flowers 5-12, usually sterile, with the corolla ligulate, yellow, white, or orange. Disc flowers few or numerous, bisexual, usually yellow, tubular; stamens 5, the anthers generally black, connate, exserted; ovary inferior, unilocular, the style filiform, with 2 stigmatic branches. Achenes slightly compressed, glabrous or pubescent; pappus composed of 1-6 erect bristles, retrorsely barbate. A genus of about 75 species, mostly of Mexico, also from North America to South America and in the Antilles.