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Spanish-needles

Bidens bipinnata

Found in floodplains, disturbed areas, gardens, fields, roadsides, ditches. FloraQuest, phone app (app page) What its natural habitat tells you

88
Keystone

Native to Alabama. How scores work Is it native here?

Profile 94%

Height
Up to about 5 feet
Light
Partial shade, Full sun
Soil moisture
Dry to moist
Will it fit your yard?

At a glance

Life cycle
Annual
Bloom
July to October

Not yet recorded · Spread · Leaves

Recorded in 47 Alabama counties.

Ecological relationships

Who uses this plant?

What these records mean

24CaterpillarsGenus host records with ranges including AL

Genus host records with ranges including AL · Bidens

  • Cecropterus lyciadesHoary Edge
  • Cecropterus pyladesNorthern Cloudywing
  • Cirrhophanus trianguliferGoldenrod Stowaway, Beggarticks Seedcropper
  • Condica concisaConcise Groundling
  • Condica confederataThe Confederate
  • Condica cupentiaSplotched Groundling
  • Condica mobilisMobile Groundling
  • Dichomeris juncidellaOrange-Dotted Dichomeris
  • Epiblema abruptanaAbrupt Epiblema
  • Epiblema otiosanaBidens Borer Moth
Show all 24
  • Eupithecia miserulataCommon Eupithacia, Common Pug
  • Homoeosoma electellaSunflower Moth
  • Lorita scarificataChrysanthemum Flower Borer
  • Nathalis ioleDainty Sulphur, Dwarf Yellow
  • Palthis asopialisFaint-Spotted Palthis
  • Papaipema nebrisStalk Borer
  • Platynota stultanaOmnivorous Leafroller
  • Pyrausta tyralisCoffee-Loving Pyrausta
  • Scopula aemulataRival Wave
  • Spilosoma virginicaVirginian Tiger Moth, Yellow Woolybear Moth, Yellow Bear
  • Spodoptera eridaniaSouthern Armyworm Moth
  • Spodoptera frugiperdaFall Armyworm Moth
  • Synchlora frondariaSouthern Emerald
  • Urbanus proteusLong-Tailed Skipper, Bean Leaf Roller
Shropshire & Tallamy 2025, Lepidoptera of North America north of Mexico, ZooKeys 1261 (ODbL)
76BeesSoutheastern regional records

Southeastern regional records · Bidens

Individual names are not available yet.

Noori, Seltmann & Orr 2026, A curated and integrated dataset for exploring global bee-plant interactions (GloBI), Zenodo, CC BY 4.0
8Specialist beesPollen specialists

Pollen specialists · Bidens

  • Andrena aliciae
  • Andrena chromotricha
  • Dianthidium curvatum
  • Dieunomia heteropoda
  • Megachile inimica
  • Megachile parallela
  • Megachile xylocopoides
  • Melissodes denticulatus
Smith, Bachelder, Russell, Morales, Mosher & Seltmann 2024, Bee-Specialization-Modeling v0.6.1 (specialist host table compiled from J. Fowler's pollen specialist bee lists), Zenodo, CC BY 4.0
10BirdsRecorded genus food-resource interactions; not a state feeding claim

Recorded genus food-resource interactions; not a state feeding claim · Bidens

  • Acanthis flammeaCommon Redpoll
  • Aix sponsaWood Duck
  • Anas platyrhynchosMallard
  • Callipepla californicaCalifornia Quail
  • Colinus virginianusNorthern Bobwhite
  • Dendrocygna bicolorFulvous Whistling-Duck
  • Fulica americanaAmerican Coot
  • Plectrophenax nivalisSnow Bunting
  • Porzana carolinaSora
  • Rallus limicolaVirginia Rail
Hurlbert, Olsen, Sawyer & Winner 2021, Avian Diet Database, Scientific Data 8: 260 (CC0)

Direct food only: birds recorded eating this genus across North America. Caterpillars on host plants also feed nesting birds. NC Native Plant Society: butterfly gardening

Flies 2
  • Siphona geniculata
  • Trichophora ruficauda

Flower visits · Carlinville, Illinois, USA

No records yet · Ants · Beetles · Adult butterflies / moths · Other wasps · Other insects

Growing and identification

Plant details

Family
Asteraceae
Flower color
White or yellow

Safety has not been reviewed for this plant; check toxicity and thorns before planting.

Growing sources and scope
  • Bloom · “July to October” · FloraQuest: Carolinas, Georgia (Southeastern Flora Team), phone app (app page) · Carolinas and Georgia
  • Flower color · “White or yellow” · Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center
  • Height · “Up to about 5 feet” · Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center
  • Life cycle · “Annual” · Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center
  • Light · “Partial shade; Full sun (documented habitat)” · FloraQuest: Carolinas, Georgia (Southeastern Flora Team), phone app (app page) · Carolinas and Georgia
  • Soil · “Dry; Moist (documented habitat)” · FloraQuest: Carolinas, Georgia (Southeastern Flora Team), phone app (app page) · Carolinas and Georgia
Also known as

Spanish Needles

Conservation status

Alabama rankSNR
Global rankG5
AL statusNot verified
Federal statusNot verified

Conservation source Global and federal source

In your garden

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Sources