Cobbler's Pegs - introduced (*Bidens pilosa)
Other Names: Stick-tights, Pitch-forks, Burr Marigold.
Family: Asteraceae (Daisy family).
Native of South America.
Occurrence: The local record (May 2003) was as a vineyard weed in Faraday.
Most of the florets are tube florets. The ray florets, if present, are white.
Identification:
- it is an erect, branched daisy, to about 1 metre
- the leaves are divided into several pairs of leaflets; the leaflets are toothed
- the florets mostly enclosed by the green outer floral leaves (bracts)
- the seeds radiate from the base in a spherical cluster
- the seeds have 2 or 3 terminal awns, which are barbed, so that the seeds cling to clothing
In The Flora of Victoria (1999) the occurrence in Victoria of Cobbler’s Pegs is given as near Melbourne, Mildura and Sale. The seeds are readily transported by clinging to clothing and fur, and the plant is likely to spread more widely. It is an annual and is easily pulled up.
Name. Bidens: two toothed, refering to the awns; pilosa: hairy.
Photos:
Right: Portion of Cobblers Pegs. The daisy flowers, the oval-shaped toothed leaflets and the spherical clusters
of barbed seeds make this a distinctive plant. The seeds have begun to break away from the seed cluster. Faraday.