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Summary

Bigelow’s beggartick is a native annual herb of moist canyons and streambanks in the Southwest and northern Mexico. Though notorious for its clinging barbed seeds, it has surprising culinary and ethnobotanical value. The leaves and flowers are edible and make a pleasant herbal tea, and the plant is widely appreciated by pollinators. Its delicate form, golden-yellow disks, and fine, lacy leaves lend charm to riparian meadows—while its barbed fruits ensure unforgettable encounters.

Physical Characteristics

Bidens bigelovii is a ANNUAL/PERENNIAL growing to 0.8 m (2ft 7in).
See above for USDA hardiness. It is hardy to UK zone 6. The species is hermaphrodite (has both male and female organs) and is pollinated by Insects.
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.

UK Hardiness Map US Hardiness Map

Synonyms

Plant Habitats

Cultivated Beds;

Edible Uses

Edible Parts:
Edible Uses: Tea

A tea is made from the flowering tips[177]. Edible Uses & Rating: Leaves and young shoots are edible raw or cooked, and flowers can be steeped as tea. Seeds (cypselae) should not be eaten due to barbed awns that pose choking hazards [2-3]. Edibility rating: 3/5) — good leafy vegetable, unsafe seeds. Taste, Processing & Kitchen Notes: Fresh leaves are similar to lettuce but with a salty, fishy, resinous accent that becomes milder after brief boiling. Texture is soft, pleasant, neither fibrous nor slimy. Cooked leaves are excellent as potherbs or teas, pairing well with rice, fish, and beans. Flower and leaf tea is reddish-brown, aromatic, and captures the appealing flavor components—one of the better native herbal teas of the Southwest [2-3]. The cypselae can be used only after toasting, pounding, boiling, and filtering to make a beverage that tastes fruit-like, faintly marine, and unique—but ingesting unprocessed cypselae is dangerous [2-3]. Seasonality (Phenology): Leaves: mid-summer to autumn. Flowers: July–October. Seeds: autumn, often sticking to clothes after field contact. Traditional / Indigenous Use Summary: Native peoples and early settlers in Texas brewed flower tea for relaxation and mild stomach upset. Leaves used as food and herbal tonic.

References More on Edible Uses

Medicinal Uses

Plants For A Future can not take any responsibility for any adverse effects from the use of plants. Always seek advice from a professional before using a plant medicinally.

None known

References More on Medicinal Uses

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Other Uses

Suitable for pollinator gardens, riparian restoration, or ephemeral wetland cover. Ecology & Wildlife: Provides nectar for small bees, hoverflies, and butterflies. Seeds feed finches and rodents. Important late-season floral resource.

Special Uses

References More on Other Uses

Cultivation details

Identification & Habit: Annual herb 20–90 cm tall. Stems slender, branching; leaves alternate or opposite, compound or 2–3-pinnately incised. Flower heads radiate or discoid, clustered on long stalks; rays white (<7 mm) and disks yellow. Involucres narrowly bell-shaped (2–4 mm); receptacles chaffy. Fruits cypselae, linear-fusiform, 4-angled, with 2–3 awns; outer cypselae 6–9 mm, inner 10–15 mm. Blooms July–October. Bark or woody tissue absent; annual life cycle. Growing Conditions: Prefers moist canyon soils, drainage lines, and shaded seeps. Thrives in loams or silts with steady moisture and full to partial sun. USDA Zones 5–10. Habitat & Range: Native to Arizona, New Mexico, Texas, and northern Mexico; moist low–mid elevation canyons. Size & Landscape Performance: Compact annual (20–90 cm × 30 cm). Suitable for pollinator gardens, riparian restoration, or ephemeral wetland cover. Growing Conditions: Prefers moist canyon soils, drainage lines, and shaded seeps. Thrives in loams or silts with steady moisture and full to partial sun. USDA Zones 5–10. Habitat & Range: Native to Arizona, New Mexico, Texas, and northern Mexico; moist low–mid elevation canyons. Size & Landscape Performance: Compact annual (20–90 cm × 30 cm). Suitable for pollinator gardens, riparian restoration, or ephemeral wetland cover. Readily grown from seed. Maintain moist but well-drained soil. Dies back after fruiting; self-sows lightly. Pests & Problems: Generally free of pests; aphids or leaf miners may occur. Look-Alikes & Confusion Risks: Similar to B. cernua and B. leptocephala; identification requires checking ray flower length (<7 mm) and narrow involucres. Cultivar/Selection Notes: No named cultivars; occasionally included in native riparian seed mixes.

References Carbon Farming Information and Carbon Sequestration Information

Temperature Converter

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Plant Propagation

Seed - we have no information for this species but suggest sowing the seed in a greenhouse in the spring. Surface-sow or only just cover the seed and do not allow the compost to dry out. When they are large enough to handle, prick the seedlings out into individual pots and grow them on in the greenhouse for at least their first winter. Plant them out into their permanent positions in late spring or early summer, after the last expected frosts. Division in spring.

Other Names

If available other names are mentioned here

Bigelow’s Beggartick (Bidens bigelovii A. Gray)

Native Range

NORTHERN AMERICA: United States (Oklahoma, Colorado, New Mexico, Texas, Arizona), Mexico (Baja California Sur, Chihuahua, Coahuila de Zaragoza, Durango, Nuevo León, San Luis Potosí, Sinaloa, Sonora, Tamaulipas, Zacatecas, Aguascalientes, Chiapas, Ciudad de México, Colima, Guanajuato, Guerrero, Hidalgo, Jalisco, México, Michoacán de Ocampo, Morelos, Oaxaca, Puebla, Querétaro, Tlaxcala, Veracruz de Ignacio de la Llave)

Weed Potential

Right plant wrong place. We are currently updating this section. Please note that a plant may be invasive in one area but may not in your area so it's worth checking.

Low to moderate—colonizes disturbed wet soils but easily managed.

Conservation Status

IUCN Red List of Threatened Plants Status : Not available

Related Plants

Latin Name	Common Name	Habit	Height	Hardiness	Soil	Shade	Moisture	Edible	Medicinal	Other
Bidens aurea	Arizona beggarticks	Perennial	1.0	7-10	LMH	N	M	1	0
Bidens bipinnata	Spanish Needles	Annual	1.0	4-11	LMH	N	M	3	2	2
Bidens biternata		Annual	0.0	-	LMH	N	M	0	1
Bidens frondosa	Beggar Ticks, Devil's beggartick	Annual	1.5	0-0	LMH	N	M	1	2	1
Bidens parviflora		Annual	0.6	-	LMH	N	M	1	1
Bidens pilosa	Beggar's Ticks, Blackjack, Hairy beggarticks	Annual	1.0	8-12	LMH	N	M	4	2	2
Bidens tripartita	Burr Marigold, Threelobe beggarticks	Annual	0.6	5-9	LMH	N	MWe	2	2	1

Growth: S = slow M = medium F = fast. Soil: L = light (sandy) M = medium H = heavy (clay). pH: A = acid N = neutral B = basic (alkaline). Shade: F = full shade S = semi-shade N = no shade. Moisture: D = dry M = Moist We = wet Wa = water.

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Bidens bigelovii - A.Gray.