Scientific Family
Asteraceae
Synonyms
Bidens aurea var. wrightii, B. ferulaefolia, B.heterophylla, B. heterophylla var. wrightii, B. tetragona, Coreopsis aurea, C. ferulifolia
Other common names
fern-leaved beggarticks
Arizona beggarticks
Plant type
Forbs and Subshrubs
Origin
Native
Lifecycle
Perennial
Height
Up to 2 feet
Riparian
Yes
Herbaceous perennial growing upright to nearly 2 feet with wiry stems and slim branches. Yellow, fragrant, daisy-like flowers grow in many-branched, flat-topped clusters just above the bushy, smooth foliage of finely dissected fern-like green leaves.
5 to 6 yellow ray flowers, 12 to 20 disc flowers; achenes not much longer than the bracts, narrow and tapering at both ends, often lack barbed awns; opposite leaves simple to twice pinnately lobed, margins smooth to coarsely toothed.
Habitat
Found in moist soils near streams, in marshes, in seeps and springs.
Plant Community
Riparian
Low elevation
0
High elevation
6500
Flower Characteristics
A ring of 4 to 6 leaf-like bracts surround the daisy-like 2 inch wide flower head, 5 to 6 yellow petal-like ray flowers from 1/2 to 1-1/4 inches long which encircle 12 to 20 disc flowers in the center, each ranging from 1/8 to 1/4 inch long.
Flower color
Yellow
Flower shape
Daisy or dandelion-like
Tubular
No
First bloom month
August
Last bloom month
September
Flower clusters
Elongated
Leaf and Stem Characteristics
Leaves are thin, have stems, are 2 to 4-3/4 inches long, 1/16 to 1/4 inch wide. Overall leaf is triangular to lance-shaped and sometimes finely divided into thread-like segments. Leaf margins may be smooth or have sharp teeth pointing forward.
Leaf type
Compound
Leaf color
Green
Leaf shape
Pinnatifid
Leaf margin
Toothed
Leaves clasp
No
Leaf hairs
None
Spines
No
Fruit and Seed Characteristics
The fruit is dark brown to blackish, dry, flat, 1-seeded and does not split open at maturity. It is somewhat 4-sided in cross-section, has slightly grooved sides. It often lacks but sometimes has 2 upright to spreading, barbed bristles at its tip.
Fruit type
Achene
Fruit color
Dark brown to blackish
1 seed is produced in the fruit; the seed coat is attached to the thin, dry ovary wall (husk) by a short stalk so that the seed is easily freed from the husk.