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You are viewing an archived site. The Chesapeake Bay Introduced Species Database project ended in 2020 and the database is no longer receiving updates. Learn more…
Image of Bidens aristosa

Bidens aristosa

Plants

Ozark Tickseed Sunflower

Ozark Tickseed-Sunflower is native to the Midwestern United States but has spread to much of the East Coast from Maine to Florida. This plant is an agricultural weed and was likely spread by the import of food crops or wool from western sheep pastures. The seeds are barbed and are easily transported in animal’s coats and in people’s socks and clothing. It was first discovered in along the Potomac River near Glen Echo MD in 1902 and from other Potomac sites from Key Bridge south to King George County. It is very common in wet areas along river banks and in marshes but is also found in fields and along the roadways. It has been found in the upper edges of tidal marshes but is much more abundant in adjacent upland habitats and roadside ditches. It is listed as an invasive plant in Maryland, Delaware, and Kentucky because can crowd out native plants in wetlands but generally is not seen as an economically important weed.

Image Credit: Robert H. Mohlenbrock, Northeast National Technical Center, Chester

Description Taxonomy Invasion History Ecology Impacts References

Description

Bidens is a difficult genus, because of many similar and variable species, and some hybridization.

Synonymy - Brown and Brown (1984); Godfrey and Wooten (1981); Harvill et al. (1992). Many local floras have separate entries for B. aristosa and B. polylepis. We have tried to combine geographical and habitat for the two synonyms.

Taxonomy

Kingdom Phylum Class Order Family Genus
Plantae Magnoliophyta Magnoliopsida Asterales Asteraceae Bidens

Synonyms

Bidens aristosa var. fritcheyi; Bidens aristosa var. mutica; Bidens aristosa var. retrorsa; Bidens polylepis; Bidens polylepis var. retrorsa; Bidens involucrata; Coreopsis involucrata

Invasion History

Chesapeake Bay Status

First Record Population Range Introduction Residency Source Region Native Region Vectors
1902 Established Stable Introduced Boundary Resident North America North America Agriculture(Agricultural Weed)

History of Spread

Bidens aristosa (Ozark Tickseed-Sunflower) is a midwestern species ('Michigan and Ohio southwestward'; Gray 1848; IL to IA, KS and CO south to TN, M, OK, and TX (Fernald 1950). It was first collected on the Atlantic seaboard from wool waste in Dracut, MA (1894) and North Berwick, ME (1897) (Canby 1900). Canby reported it (as Coreopsis involucrata) from 'reclaimed tide-water marshes at the junction of Christiana Creek with the Delaware River,' (Canby 1900). It now ranges on the Atlantic Coast from ME to NH to FL, and westward to CA (Godfrey and Wooten 1981); Natural Resources Conservation Service 1998).

Bidens aristosa is not listed for MD in Shreve et al. (1910) However, it was collected along the Potomac River near Glen Echo MD in 1902 and from other Potomac sites from Key Bridge (1918) to King George County (Fairview Beach, 1945) (U.S.National Herbarium collections),. Hitchcock and Standley reported it from 'wet ground along the Potomac and at Chesapeake Junction' (Hitchcock and Standley 1919). Tatnall (1946) reported B. aristosa as 'very abundant in Delaware River marshes, Wilmington, and spreading inland to fields and roadsides, occasionally southward...roadside just north of Oak Hall' (Accomack Co. VA), 1935. It was collected near headwaters of South River estuary, 1966 (Stieber 1968). It was reported as an 'occasional occurence in managed meadows,' in Rock Creek Park (Fleming and Kanal 1992), and in 'ditches, fields, and upper tidal marshes,' including Caledon Natural Area on the mesohaline Potomac (Simmons et al. 1995). Bidens aristosa was not found in tidal marshes on Assateague Island, but it did appear to be spreading there in disturbed upland habitats (Hill 1986). B. aristosa is known from most VA counties (Harvill et al. 1992), and is abundant locally in MD (Brown and Brown 1984).

History References - Brown and Brown 1984; Canby 1900; Fleming and Kanal 1992; Godfrey and Wooten 1981; Gray 1848; Harvill et al. 1992; Hill 1986; Hitchcock and Standley 1919; Natural Resources Conservation Service 1998; Shreve et al. 1910; Simmons et al. 1995; Stieber 1968; Tatnall 1946

Invasion Comments

Probable Vector into Chesapeake Bay - Bidens spp. have two-pronged barbed seeds that stick to animal fur and clothing. B. aristosa was first found on the East Coast in waste from woolen mills (Canby 1900) which seems the likeliest mode of transport, but transport on livestock or clothing of travelers is also possible.

Ecology

Environmental Tolerances

For SurvivalFor Reproduction
Minimum Maximum Minimum Maximum
Temperature (ºC)
Salinity (‰) 0.0 0.0
Oxygen
pH
Salinity Range fresh-oligo

Age and Growth

Male Female
Minimum Adult Size (mm)
Typical Adult Size (mm)
Maximum Adult Size (mm)
Maximum Longevity (yrs)
Typical Longevity (yrs

Reproduction

Start Peak End
Reproductive Season
Typical Number of Young
Per Reproductive Event
Sexuality Mode(s)
Mode(s) of Asexual
Reproduction
Fertilization Type(s)
More than One Reproduction
Event per Year
Reproductive Startegy
Egg/Seed Form

Impacts

Economic Impacts in Chesapeake Bay

Bidens aristosa (Ozark Tickseed Sunflower) has apparently had no economic impacts in the Bay. It is apparently an increasingly common weed in surrounding upland regions (Brown and Brown 1984; Harvill et al. 1992), but has no reported economic impacts.

Economic Impacts Outside of Chesapeake Bay

Bidens aristosa (Ozark Tickseed Sunflower) is now established in most of eastern North America, but was not considered an economically important weed (Godfrey and Wooten 1981). However, it is included on invasive plant lists for MD, DE, and KY (Cooley 1993; Delaware Natural Heritage Program 1999; Natural Resources Conservation Service 2001).

References- Godfrey and Wooten 1981; Natural Resources Conservation Service 2001

Ecological Impacts on Chesapeake Native Species

Bidens aristosa (Ozark Tickseed Sunflower) is apparently rare in the intertidal zone. However it is increasingly common in upland habitats (Brown and Brown 1984; Godfrey and Wooten 1981; Harvill et al. 1992). This species has been included on a list of invasive species for MD (Cooley 1993), and DE where it is 'dominating certain wetland types at the expense of indigenous species' (Delaware Natural Heritage Program 1999).

References- Brown and Brown 1984; Cooley 1993; Delaware Natural Heritage Program 1999; Godfrey and Wooten 1981; Harvill et al. 1992

Ecological Impacts on Other Chesapeake Non-Native Species

Bidens aristosa (Ozark Tickseed Sunflower) is apparently rare in the intertidal zone, and impacts on exotic biota have not been reported.

References

Brown, Melvin L.; Brown, Russell G. (1984) Herbaceous Plants of Maryland, , College Park. Pp.

Canby, William M, (1900) Coreopsis involucrata on the Atlantic Coast, Rhodora 2: 34

Fernald, Merritt L. (1950) Gray's Manual of Botany, In: (Eds.) . , New York. Pp.

Fleming, Peggy; Kanal, Raclare (1992) Newly documented species of vascular plants in the District of Columbia., Castanea 57: 132-146

Gleason, Henry A. (1963) The new Britton and Brown illustrated flora of the northeastern United States and adjacent Canada, In: (Eds.) . , New York. Pp.

Gleason, Henry A.; Cronquist, Arthur (1991) Manual of vascular plants of northeastern United States and adjacent Canada, In: (Eds.) . , Bronx, New York. Pp.

Godfrey, R. K.; Wooten, Jean W. (1981) Aquatic and Wetland Plants of the Southeastern United States: Dicotyledones, , Athens. Pp.

Gray, Asa (1848) A manual of botany of the northern United States., In: (Eds.) . , Boston. Pp.

Harvill, A. M., Jr.; Bradley, T. R.; Stevens, C. E.; Weiboldt, T.F.; Ware, D.E.; Ogle, D. W. (1986) Atlas of the Virginia Flora, , Farmville, VA. Pp.

Harvill, A. M.; Bradley, Ted R.; Stevens, Charles E.; Wieboldt, Thomas F.; Ware, Donna M. E.; Ogle, Douglas W.; Ramsey, Gwynn W.; Fleming, Gary P. (1992) Atlas of the Virginia Flora, , Burkeville, VA. Pp.

Hill, Steven R. (1986) An annotated checklist of the vascular flora of Assateague Island (Maryland and Virginia), Castanea 51: 265-305

Hitchcock, A. S.; Standley, P. C. (1919) Flora of the District of Columbia and Vicinity., In: (Eds.) . , Washington, D. C.. Pp.

Kartesz, John T. (1994) A synonymized checklist of the vascular flora of the United States, Canada, and Greenland., In: (Eds.) . , Portland OR. Pp.

1997-2024 USDA PLANTS Database.. Onine databse

Shreve, Forrest M.; Chrysler, M. A.; Blodgett, Frederck H.; Besley, F. W. (1910) The Plant Life of Maryland, , Baltmore. Pp.

Simmons, Mark P.; Ware, Donna M.; Hayden, W. John (1995) The vascular flora of the Potomac River watershed of King George County, Virginia, Castanea 60: 179-209

Stieber, Michael T. (1967) An annotated checklist of the vascular flora of Anne Arundel County Maryland, , Washington, D.C.. Pp.

Tatnall, Robert R. (1946) Flora of Delaware and the Eastern Shore, , Wilmington. Pp.

Direct questions and comments to chesnemo@si.edu.

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