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. |
