Hairy Beggarticks

Bidens alba

Not native to Georgia

Do not plant. Listed invasive in Georgia.

Bidens alba — flower photograph — (c) Ricard Busquets Reverte, some rights reserved (CC BY) · CC BY 4.0 · Original photograph · iNaturalist medium image; no additional crop, retouching, or re-encoding.

Ecological relationships

Who uses this plant?

22CaterpillarsGenus host records with ranges including GA

Genus host records with ranges including GA · 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 22

Eupithecia miserulataCommon Eupithacia, Common Pug
Homoeosoma electellaSunflower Moth
Nathalis ioleDainty Sulphur, Dwarf Yellow
Palthis asopialisFaint-Spotted Palthis
Papaipema nebrisStalk Borer
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

Shropshire & Tallamy 2025, Lepidoptera of North America north of Mexico, ZooKeys 1261 (ODbL)

—BeesSoutheastern regional records

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)

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

Flower color · “White or yellow” · Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center
Height · “Up to about 8 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) · Carolinas and Georgia
Soil · “Dry; Moist; Wet (documented habitat)” · FloraQuest: Carolinas, Georgia (Southeastern Flora Team) · Carolinas and Georgia

Also known as

Bidens pilosa

Conservation status

Georgia rank	Not available
Global rank	G5
GA status	Not verified
Federal status	Not verified

Conservation source Global and federal source

Native alternatives

Find natives for your garden

Sources