COBBLER’S PEGS (WEED)
Bidens alba var. radiata, Bidens pilosa, Fam. Asteraceae



Erect annual herbs to 0.6m, mostly hairless green to purplish stems, square in cross section.
Form or habit: | Herb |
Latex: | Asteraceae |
Leaf: | Compound Opposite Opposite with serrated margins, lower leaves usually simple, ovate, 15-70 x 5-35mm, middle leaves usually pinnate with 3-7 leaflets, upper leaves smaller, often single or with 3 leaflets. |
Flower conspicuous: | Conspicuous |
Flower colour: | White petals and yellow centres |
Flower description: | B. alba var. radiata has yellow fluffy heads surrounded by white ‘petals’, up to 12mm in diameter; B. pilosa lacks the white ‘petals’; both have heads borne in terminal sprays. |
Fruit conspicuous: | Conspicuous |
Fruit colour: | Black |
Fruit: | Dry |
Fruit description: | ‘Seeds’ clustered on each flower head, black, up to 15mm long, flattened and 4-angled ending in 2-3 yellowish barbed bristles – the ‘cobblers pegs’. |
Habitat: | |
Distribution | |
Food source for: | |
Toxicity: | |
Origin: | Cosmopolitan in warm areas |
Weed: | Yes |
Weed status: | Environmental/garden escapee |
Notes: | Spread by: ‘Seeds’ attach to ‘everything’ including clothing and fur. Invades/threats: Minor weed in cane fields, common to abundant in disturbed areas such as roadsides, banks and fallow land; gardens. Notes: Both are widely naturalised, but B. alba var. radiata is the more common species this region. Environmental weed. |
Information sources: | Mackay Regional Pest Management Group (2011) Weeds of the Mackay Whitsunday Region. |