Spanish-needles

Bidens bipinnata

Native to South Carolina (estimated)

Bidens bipinnata — fruit photograph — (c) Douglas Goldman, some rights reserved (CC BY-SA) · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Original photograph · iNaturalist medium image; no additional crop, retouching, or re-encoding.

Ecological relationships

Who uses this plant?

23CaterpillarsGenus host records with ranges including SC

Genus host records with ranges including SC · Bidens

Cecropterus lyciadesHoary Edge
Cecropterus pyladesNorthern Cloudywing
Cirrhophanus trianguliferGoldenrod Stowaway, Beggarticks Seedcropper
Condica confederataThe Confederate
Condica cupentiaSplotched Groundling
Condica mobilisMobile Groundling
Dichomeris juncidellaOrange-Dotted Dichomeris
Epiblema abruptanaAbrupt Epiblema
Epiblema otiosanaBidens Borer Moth
Eupithecia miserulataCommon Eupithacia, Common Pug

Show all 23

Homoeosoma electellaSunflower Moth
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
Agonopterix atrodorsella

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)

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

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) · Carolinas and Georgia
Soil · “Dry; Moist (documented habitat)” · FloraQuest: Carolinas, Georgia (Southeastern Flora Team) · Carolinas and Georgia

Also known as

Spanish Needles; Spanish needles

Conservation status

South Carolina rank	Not available
Global rank	G5
SC status	Not verified
Federal status	Not verified

Conservation source Global and federal source

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Sources