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Spanish needles flowers are 1/2" long and 1/4" across; they occur individually on the end of long peduncles. Each flower has 3-5 (sometimes zero) ovoid, yellow, petal-like ray florets around 12-27 yellow, tubular disc florets, each with five small lobes at their tips, 5 stamens, and a bifurcated style. Even in full bloom, the flowers look like buds. After fertilization, each flower produces needle-like, brown, four-angled, barbed seeds, each 1/2-3/4" long, that radiate in all directions from the base of the old flower.

Bidens

Bidens bipinnata

Spanish needles [Blooms: Aug-Sep]

Nodding bur-marigold's flowers usually have eight ray florets ("petals") that are elliptical; the flower is 1-2" across with the flower stem arising from leaf axil. Flowers nod down with age. The phyllaries at the base of the flowers are in two series — the outer phyllaries are of variable length but narrow, curly, and green; the inner phyllaries are almond shaped, as wide as the petals, and pale yellow-green.

Bidens

Bidens cernua

nodding bur-marigold [Blooms: Aug-Oct]

The flowers of devil's beggars-tick consist only of disc florets. The base of the flower is surrounded by 6-10 (usually eight) long phyllaries that extend beyond the flower's edge.

Bidens

Bidens frondosa

devil's beggar-tick [Blooms: Aug-Oct]

Top — Crowned beggar-tick's (Bidens trichosperma) flowers in frontal view. Bottom — about twelve narrow, twisted phyllaries lie below the yellow flower sepals at the top of the stem.

Bidens

Bidens trichosperma

crowned beggar-tick [Blooms: Sep-Oct]