Purplestem Beggar-ticks

Common name: Purplestem Beggar-ticks (Swamp Beggar-ticks)

Scientific name: Bidens connata

Dimensions:
  Flower: Disk 3/8"-1" (8-25 mm) wide
  Plant height: 1-6' (30-180 cm)

Blooming period: August-October

Habitat: Swamps, moist soil, wet weedy places

Description: Orange-yellow flower heads erect on individual stems; flower rays usually absent but may have 1-5 relatively inconspicuous rays; each flower head base surrounded by 4-9 green leaf-like bracts. Leaves opposite, 1-6" (2.5-15 cm) long, undivided, lance-shaped (lanceolate), toothed, well-stalked; lower leaves may be lobed. Stem green to purplish. The one-seeded fruits (achenes) are flat and have 2-4 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)