Devil's Beggar-ticks

Common name: Devil's Beggar-ticks (Sticktight)

Scientific name: Bidens frondosa

Dimensions:
  Flower: Disk ¼-1" (6-25 mm) wide
  Plant height: 1-4' (30-120 cm)

Blooming period: August-October

Habitat: Wet or dry weedy places, fields

Description: Dull yellowish flower heads with orange centers; flower rays are absent; each flower head surrounded by 5-10 (typically 8) green leaf-like bracts that usually are spread well beyond the disk. Leaves are divided into 3-5 leaflets, each up to 4" (10 cm) long, lance-shaped or narrowly oval, toothed, and hairless or sparsely short-haired beneath. The one-seeded fruits (achenes) are flat and have barbs that stick to clothing or cling to passing animals. As children growing up in New Hampshire we called them "hitchhikers". Aster family. (August 30)