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Central QLD Coast Landcare Network

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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.

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