Small Beggarticks
Bidens discoidea
In the Carolinas and Georgia, found in floodplain forests, marshes. Weakley, Flora of the Southeastern United States (2025), Carolinas & Georgia edition What its natural habitat tells you
Native to Arkansas. How scores work Is it native here?
Profile 100%
- Height
- About 5.2 feet
- Light
- Part shade
- Soil moisture
- Moist to standing water
At a glance
- Life cycle
- Annual
- Bloom
- August to November
- Fruiting season
- Fall
Not yet recorded · Spread · Leaves
Recorded in 25 Arkansas counties.
Natural habitats
Places it grows wild. Not a planting requirement. Each habitat page lists the plants and wildlife also found there.
Floodplain and bottomland forests
Forests on low ground beside rivers and streams that flood from time to time.
Open, herb-covered wetlands with fresh, non-tidal water.
Also found with this plant
Wildlife whose habitat models include habitats this plant grows in, in Arkansas. Shared habitat, not food. 51 animals.
Widespread birds also seen here (74)
Found in many habitats here, so not listed above.
- American Goldfinch
- American Kestrel
- American Redstart
- American Robin
- Bald Eagle
- Belted Kingfisher
- Black-and-White Warbler
- Black-crowned Night-heron
- Blue Grosbeak
- Blue Jay
- Blue-gray Gnatcatcher
- Brown Creeper
- Brown Thrasher
- Canada Goose
- Carolina Chickadee
- Cedar Waxwing
- Chimney Swift
- Chipping Sparrow
- Cliff Swallow
- Common Nighthawk
- Common Yellowthroat
- Cooper's Hawk
- Double-crested Cormorant
- Downy Woodpecker
- Eastern Bluebird
- Eastern Kingbird
- Eastern Screech-owl
- Eastern Wood-pewee
- Eurasian Collared-dove
- European Starling
- Fox Sparrow
- Golden-crowned Kinglet
- Gray Catbird
- Great Horned Owl
- Hairy Woodpecker
- Harris's Sparrow
- Hermit Thrush
- Hooded Merganser
- Lincoln's Sparrow
- Mallard
- Mississippi Kite
- Mourning Dove
- Northern Cardinal
- Northern Flicker
- Northern Mockingbird
- Orange-crowned Warbler
- Osprey
- Pileated Woodpecker
- Pine Siskin
- Purple Finch
- Red-bellied Woodpecker
- Red-headed Woodpecker
- Red-tailed Hawk
- Red-winged Blackbird
- Ruby-crowned Kinglet
- Ruby-throated Hummingbird
- Rusty Blackbird
- Sharp-shinned Hawk
- Song Sparrow
- Spotted Sandpiper
- Summer Tanager
- Tree Swallow
- Tufted Titmouse
- Turkey Vulture
- White-breasted Nuthatch
- White-crowned Sparrow
- White-throated Sparrow
- Wild Turkey
- Wood Thrush
- Yellow-bellied Sapsucker
- Yellow-billed Cuckoo
- Yellow-breasted Chat
- Yellow-crowned Night-heron
- Yellow-rumped Warbler
Who uses this plant?
21CaterpillarsGenus host records with ranges including AR
Genus host records with ranges including AR · Bidens
- Cecropterus lyciadesHoary Edge
- Cecropterus pyladesNorthern Cloudywing
- Cirrhophanus trianguliferGoldenrod Stowaway, Beggarticks Seedcropper
- Condica confederataThe Confederate
- Condica mobilisMobile Groundling
- Dichomeris juncidellaOrange-Dotted Dichomeris
- Epiblema abruptanaAbrupt Epiblema
- Epiblema otiosanaBidens Borer Moth
- Eupithecia miserulataCommon Eupithacia, Common Pug
- Homoeosoma electellaSunflower Moth
Show all 21
- Nathalis ioleDainty Sulphur, Dwarf Yellow
- Palthis asopialisFaint-Spotted Palthis
- Papaipema nebrisStalk Borer
- Platynota stultanaOmnivorous Leafroller
- Pyrausta tyralisCoffee-Loving Pyrausta
- Pyrrhia exprimensPurple-Lined Sallow, Purple-Lined Sun Moth
- 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
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
5BirdsRecorded eating Bidens in Arkansas
Diet records by plant genus, from studies across North America. Not a record from this state. Birds whose range includes Arkansas, most records first.
- SoraSeeds. 4 diet records
- American CootSeeds. 2 diet records
- Wood DuckSeeds. 2 diet records
- MallardSeeds. 1 diet record
- Northern Bobwhite1 diet record
Direct food only. Caterpillars on host plants also feed nesting birds. NC Native Plant Society: butterfly gardening
No records yet · Ants · Beetles · Flies · Adult butterflies / moths · Other wasps · Other insects
Birds that eat Bidens 5
Diet records by plant genus, from studies across North America. Not a record from this state. Avian Diet Database (Hurlbert Lab), CC0 1.0.
- SoraPorzana carolina
- American CootFulica americana
- Wood DuckAix sponsa
- MallardAnas platyrhynchos
- Northern BobwhiteColinus virginianus
Plant details
- Family
- Asteraceae
- Flower color
- Yellow
- Growth rate
- Rapid
- Growth habit
- Single crown
- Foliage color
- Green
- Fruit begins
- Fall
- Fruit ends
- Fall
Safety has not been reviewed for this plant; check toxicity and thorns before planting.
Growing sources and scope
- Bloom · “Late August to November” · Weakley, Flora of the Southeastern United States (2025), Carolinas & Georgia edition (ranked first; USDA PLANTS differs) · Carolinas and Georgia
- Flower color · “Yellow” · USDA PLANTS · Nationwide species characteristics; local growing conditions may vary
- Foliage color · “Green” · USDA PLANTS · Nationwide species characteristics; local growing conditions may vary
- Fruit begins · “Fall” · USDA PLANTS · Nationwide species characteristics; local growing conditions may vary
- Fruit ends · “Fall” · USDA PLANTS · Nationwide species characteristics; local growing conditions may vary
- Growth habit · “Single crown” · USDA PLANTS · Nationwide species characteristics; local growing conditions may vary
- Growth rate · “Rapid” · USDA PLANTS · Nationwide species characteristics; local growing conditions may vary
- Height · “About 5.2 feet” · USDA PLANTS (ranked first; Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center, Minnesota Wildflowers differ) · Nationwide species characteristics; local growing conditions may vary
- Life cycle · “Annual” · Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center
- Light · “Part shade” · Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center
- primary_flower_color · “yellow” · USDA PLANTS
- Soil · “Moist; Water; Wet (documented habitat)” · Weakley, Flora of the Southeastern United States (2025), Carolinas & Georgia edition · Carolinas and Georgia
Also known as
Small Beggar Ticks
Conservation status
| Arkansas rank | SNR |
|---|---|
| Global rank | G5 |
| AR status | Not verified |
| Federal status | Not verified |
Will it fit your yard?
Check this plant against your county, sun and soil moisture. Conditions are checked in your browser.
Sources
- Atlas of the Vascular Plants of Arkansas (2013)
- USDA PLANTS
- Vascular Plants of North Carolina (NC Natural Heritage Program)
- Weakley, Flora of the Southeastern United States (2025)
- Arkansas occurrence source
- Shropshire & Tallamy 2025, Lepidoptera of North America north of Mexico, ZooKeys 1261 (ODbL)
- Noori, Seltmann & Orr 2026, A curated and integrated dataset for exploring global bee-plant interactions (GloBI), Zenodo, CC BY 4.0
- 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
- Hurlbert, Olsen, Sawyer & Winner 2021, Avian Diet Database, Scientific Data 8: 260 (CC0)
- Narango, Tallamy & Shropshire 2020, Few keystone plant genera support the majority of Lepidoptera species, Nature Communications