Asteraceae

Bidens cernua

Nodding Beggarticks

Erect, hairless to sparsely hairy. Leaves opposite, stalkless, wrapping around stem, lance-shaped, 2–8 in. long, smooth to saw-toothed. Flower head single, with few green, lance-shaped, leafy bracts at base, nodding as they mature. Ray and disk flowers yellow; 6–8 ray flowers or none. Tan, wedge-shaped seed head has 3–4 barbed tips that attach to clothing if you walk among drying plants. Grows in freshwater wetlands at low elevations. Similar B. amplissima grows in same habitats but is rare, found in a few sites only in Puget Sound, on southern Vancouver Island, and in lower Fraser Valley; a robust plant, it grows to 4 ft., with many branches, simple or 3-lobed leaves, few but large heads with large ray petals.

• Rarity: Locally Common
• Flowering Time: All Summer
• Life Cycle: Annual
• Height: 4--40 inches
• Habitat: Vernal Wet, Bog/Fen/Wetland
• Found In: East Gorge, West Gorge, Olympic Np, Steens, N Cascades Np
• Native: Yes