Author | L. | |
Distribution | Recorded from the Piedmont only, in Durham, Iredell, Mecklenburg, and Wake counties. Collections range from 1944-1979.
Native of Mediterranean Europe; in N.A. from MA to Ont. south to FL and MS; TX; KS; Sask.; B.C. to CA and AZ. | |
Abundance | Very rare. | |
Habitat | Fields, fallow fields, campus weed, granitic outcrop (Rolesville, Wake Co.). | |
Phenology | Flowering March-April; fruiting April-June. | |
Identification | This is a rather low-growing, often spreading herb reaching about 1-1.5 feet tall and wider, somewhat confusing to identify until in fruit. It is best known by its feathery-dissected foliage and its long, skinny fruits that stand straight up; these fruits can reach 2 inches long, making such a plant impossible to overlook or misidentify. The umbels are otherwise small, with a few white flowers, the outer ones often much larger. | |
Taxonomic Comments | | |
Other Common Name(s) | Commonly named as Shepherd's-needle, but Bidens alba is most often known as Shepherd's-needles (plural). However, these names are so very close as to cause confusion, and one of them must have a different common name on this website. RAB (1968) used only Venus'-comb, and Weakley (2018) uses that as his first common name. | |
State Rank | SE | |
Global Rank | GNR | |
State Status | | |
US Status | | |
USACE-agcp | | |
USACE-emp | | |