Bidens pilosa
| Bidens pilosa | |
| Light: |  |
| Moisture: |  |
| Soil pH: | 5.6-8.4 |
| Height: | 3' |
| Blooms: | Late Spring-Mid Fall |
| Native to: | |
| Edible Rating: |  |
| Medicinal Rating: |  |
| Tea: | Yes |
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Bidens pilosa (common name: beggar's ticks)
Propagation: Seed - sow early spring in a greenhouse and only just cover the seed. When they are large enough to handle, prick the seedlings out into individual pots and plant them out in May.
Alternatively, a sowing in situ in mid to late spring can be tried.
Cultivation: We have very little information on this species and do not know if it will succeed outdoors in Britain, though it should be possible to grow it as a spring-sown annual. The following notes are based on the general needs of the genus.
Succeeds in any moderately fertile moisture-retentive soil in full sun[1].
Range: New Zealand. A pantropical weed[2].
Habitat: Damp lowland fields and wasteland, North and Kermadec Islands[3]. Moist, open neglected places at elevations of 700 - 2000 metres in Nepal[2].
Edibility: Leaves - raw or cooked[4]. A resinous flavour[5]. Added to salads or steamed and added to soups and stews, they can also be dried for later use[6].A good source of iodine[2]. A nutritional analysis is available[7].
Young shoot tips are used to make a tea[4].
Medicinal: A juice made from the leaves is used to dress wounds and ulcers[7][2]. A decoction of the leaves is anti-inflammatory, styptic and alterative[7].
The whole plant is antirheumatic, it is also used in enemas to treat intestinal ailments[7].
Substances isolated from the leaves are bactericidal and fungicidal, they are used in the treatment of thrush and candida[7].
Pollinators: Bees, hover-flies
Soil: Can grow in light, medium, and heavy soils.
Flower Type: Hermaphrodite
Known Hazards: The roots, leaves and flowers are strongly phototoxic, the achenes weakly so[7]. Substances isolated from the leaves can kill human skin in the presence of sunlight at concentrations as low as 10ppm[7].
Links
References
- ↑ Huxley, Anthony. The New Royal Horticultural Society Dictionary of Gardening. MacMillan Press, 1992.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 Manandhar, Narayan. Plants and People of Nepal. Timber Press, 2002.
- ↑ Allan, Harry. Flora of New Zealand. Government Printer Publications, 1961.
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 Kunkel, Günther. Plants for Human Consumption. Koeltz Scientific Books, 1984.
- ↑ Crowe, Andrew. Native Edible Plants of New Zealand. Hodder and Stoughton, 1990.
- ↑ Facciola, Stephen. Cornucopia - A Source Book of Edible Plants. Kampong Publications, 1990.
- ↑ 7.0 7.1 7.2 7.3 7.4 7.5 7.6 Duke, James and Edward Ayensu. Medicinal Plants of China. Reference Publications, 1985.