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Three-lobe Beggarticks - Bidens comosa
Other Names:
Bidens tripartita
State Rank Reason (see State Rank above)
Bidens comosa occurs throughout the USA and Canada, and is found in the central portion of Montana. Although the number of herbarium specimens are small, plants can be common where found and can tolerate naturally disturbed habitats. Threats have not been identified. Current data on the location, population sizes, habitat conditions, and threats are greatly needed to more accurately assess its status in Montana.
- Details on Status Ranking and Review
Range Extent
ScoreF - 20,000-200,000 sq km (~8,000-80,000 sq mi)
Comment82,993 square kilometers.
Area of Occupancy
ScoreD - 6-25 4-km2 grid cells
CommentMontana can be divided into 30,390 4x4 square kilometer cells. For this species plant observations occur in 9 of these 4x4 square kilometer cells.
Number of Populations
ScoreB - 6 - 20
Comment10 observations.
Number of Occurrences or Percent Area with Good Viability / Ecological Integrity
ScoreC - Few (4-12) occurrences with excellent or good viability or ecological integrity
Comment5 observations assumed of good viability based on descriptors of 'common' and 'locally common'.
Environmental Specificity
ScoreB - Narrow. Specialist or community with key requirements common
CommentCoefficient of Conservatism value is a 6 indicating it exhibits a moderate fidelity to a narrow range of ecological tolerance, and tolerates limited human disturbance.
Threats
ScoreD - Low
General Description
PLANTS: An annual herb with an erect, branched stem, 10-60 cm tall. Source: Lesica et al. 2012.
LEAVES: Arranged opposite on the stem. Blades are simple (sometimes deeply three-parted), lanceolate in shape, with entire, serrate, or shallowly lobes margins, and 3-15 cm long. Leaf stems (petioles) are short and distinct or winged and sessile. Source: Lesica et al. 2012.
INFLORESCENCE: 1-3 yellow to reddish flower heads with long stems (peduncles), 3-15 cm. Heads composed only of disc florets; ray florets absent or very inconspicuous. Involucre 4-12 mm across, leafy, and with 2 rows of bracts. Outer involucral bracts are linear-lanceolate to oblanceolate in shape, entire to serrate, minutely ciliate, and shallowly lobed, 15-45 mm long. Inner involucral bracts are ovate, 6-10 mm long. Source: Lesica et al. 2012.
The genus Bidens comes from the latin word bis meaning two and dens meaning tooth, which is referring to the pappus (Strother and Weedon in FNA 2006).
Phenology
Flowering in late July-September.
Diagnostic Characteristics
Bidens tripartita plants are widespread in Eurasia and many treatments consider the North American plants to be a phase that belongs to the same species (conspecific) (Strother and Weedon
in FNA 2006; Giblin et al. [eds.] 2018). Some treatments consider the North American plants to be a different species,
Bidens comosa (McGregor et al. 1986; Lesica et al. 2012).
In Montana
Bidens species have opposite leaves, involucral bracts of 2 types, awned seeds that catch your clothing, and grow in wetland habitats. Several species lack ray florets.
Three-lobe Beggarticks -
Bidens comosa*Life Span: Annual.
*Leaves: Simple or shallowly lobed and toothed. Petioles are short and distinct or sessile and winged.
*Flower Heads: Composed only of disc florets though sometimes with inconspicuous ray florets.
*Pappus: Usually with 3 awns.
*Habitat: Wet or moist places that may become temporarily inundated.
Nodding Beggarticks -
Bidens cernua*Life Span: Annual.
*Leaves: Simple or shallowly lobed and toothed. Petioles are short and distinct or sessile and winged.
*Flower Heads: Composed only of disc and ray florets.
*Pappus: Usually with 4 awns.
*Habitat: Wet or moist places that may become temporarily inundated.
Beck Water-marigold -
Bidens beckii, SOC
*Life Span: Perennial
*Leaves: Of two types. Submerged leaves are dissected into thread-like segments. Emergent leaves are simple and toothed.
*Flower Heads: Composed only disc and ray florets.
*Pappus: Of 2-6 awns.
*Habitat: Aquatic.
Tall Bur-marigold -
Bidens vulgata*Life Span: Annual.
*Leaves: Pinnately divided and with a distinct petiole.
*Flower Heads: Composed only of disc florets; ray florets absent. Outer phyllaries are 10-16 mm long.
*Pappus: With 2 awns.
*Habitat: Wet or moist places that may become temporarily inundated.
Devil's Beggarticks -
Bidens frondosa*Life Span: Annual.
*Leaves: Pinnately divided and with a distinct petiole.
*Flower Heads: Composed of disc florets; ray florets absent or inconspicuous. Outer phyllaries are 5-8 mm long.
*Pappus: With 2 awns.
*Habitat: Wet or moist places that may become temporarily inundated.
Range Comments
Throughout most of temperate North America (Lesica et al. 2012).
Observations in Montana Natural Heritage Program Database
Number of Observations: 13
(Click on the following maps and charts to see full sized version)
Map Help and Descriptions
Relative Density
Recency
(Observations spanning multiple months or years are excluded from time charts)
Habitat
Streambanks, fields, and roadsides in the plains and valley zones of Montana (Lesica et al. 2012).
Ecology
POLLINATORS The following animal species have been reported as pollinators of this plant species or its genus where their geographic ranges overlap:
Bombus griseocollis and
Bombus impatiens (Plath 1934, Colla and Dumesh 2010).
Reproductive Characteristics
Plants reproduce by seed.
FLOWERS
Disk florets are 2-4 mm long. Pappus has 3 barbed awns, 3-5 mm long.
FRUITS
Fruit is an achene. Achenes are flattened, awned, carrot-shaped, and 6-9 mm long. The awns of the pappus cause fruits to stick to clothing.
Stewardship Responsibility
References
- Literature Cited AboveLegend:
View Online Publication
Colla, S.R. and S. Dumesh. 2010. The bumble bees of southern Ontario: notes on natural history and distribution. Journal of the Entomological Society of Ontario 141:39-68.- Flora of North America Editorial Committee (FNA). 2006. Flora of North America North of Mexico. Vol. 21. Magnoliophyta: Asteridae (in part): Asteraceae, part 3. Oxford Univ. Press, New York. xxii + 616 pp.
- Hitchcock, C.L. and A. Cronquist. 2018. Flora of the Pacific Northwest: An Illustrated Manual. Second Edition. Giblin, D.E., B.S. Legler, P.F. Zika, and R.G. Olmstead (eds). Seattle, WA: University of Washington Press in Association with Burke Museum of Natural History and Culture. 882 p.
- Lesica, P., M.T. Lavin, and P.F. Stickney. 2012. Manual of Montana Vascular Plants. Fort Worth, TX: BRIT Press. viii + 771 p.
- McGregor, R.L. (coordinator), T.M. Barkley, R.E. Brooks, and E.K. Schofield (eds). 1986. Flora of the Great Plains: Great Plains Flora Association. Lawrence, KS: Univ. Press Kansas. 1392 pp.
- Plath, O.E. 1934. Bumblebees and their ways. New York, NY: Macmillan Company. 201 p.
- Additional ReferencesLegend: View Online Publication
Do you know of a citation we're missing?- Lesica, P., M.T. Lavin, and P.F. Stickney. 2022. Manual of Montana Vascular Plants, Second Edition. Fort Worth, TX: BRIT Press. viii + 779 p.
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