Bidens bipinnata
| Bidens bipinnata | |
| Light: |  |
| Moisture: |  |
| Soil pH: | 5.6-8.4 |
| Height: | 3' |
| Blooms: | Early Fall-Mid Fall |
| Native to: | |
| Shelter | |
| Edible Rating: |  |
| Medicinal Rating: |  |
| Tea: | Yes |
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Bidens bipinnata (common name: spanish needles)
Propagation: Seed - sow mid to late spring in situ and only just cover the seed.
Cultivation: Succeeds in any moderately fertile moisture-retentive soil in full sun[1].
A good bee plant[1].
Range: E. Asia. Eastern N. America.
Habitat: Rocky woods, roadsides and waste places, often in sandy soils, Florida to Mexico, north to Massachusetts and New York[2].
Edibility: Leaves and young shoots - cooked or used as a flavouring[3][4]. Used as a vegetable[5].
A tea is made from the flowering tops[4].
Medicinal: The root and seeds are popularly used as an emmenagogue and in the treatment of laryngeal and bronchial diseases[4].
A tea made from the leaves is vermifuge[6]. The leaves have been chewed as a treatment for sore throat[6]. The plant juice is styptic and has been used as ear drops[6].
An extract of the plant has bactericidal properties[5].
Pollinators: Insects
Soil: Can grow in light, medium, and heavy soils.
Seed Ripens: Mid Fall
Flower Type: Hermaphrodite
Links
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 Huxley, Anthony. The New Royal Horticultural Society Dictionary of Gardening. MacMillan Press, 1992.
- ↑ Lyndon, Merritt. Gray's Manual of Botany. American Book Co, 1950.
- ↑ Kunkel, Günther. Plants for Human Consumption. Koeltz Scientific Books, 1984.
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 Coffey, Timothy. The History and Folklore of North American Wild Flowers. Facts on File, 1993.
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 Duke, James and Edward Ayensu. Medicinal Plants of China. Reference Publications, 1985.
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 6.2 Foster, Steven and Billy Tatum. Medicinal Plants of Eastern and Central North America. Houghton Mifflin, 1990.