Spanish Needles 100 Seeds Bidens pilosa

Bidens pilosa, commonly known as Spanish needle, is an annual herbaceous plant belonging to the Sunflower family and is native to tropical and subtropical regions but now widely naturalized across the globe. It has slender, erect, and often branched stems that are green to purplish in color. The leaves are opposite, deeply serrated, and usually pinnate with three to five lanceolate segments, giving the plant a feathery appearance. Bidens pilosa produces small but attractive flower heads composed of bright yellow disk florets at the center and white to cream-colored ray florets on the margins, which are highly attractive to pollinators like bees and butterflies. After flowering, it forms distinctive black, barbed seeds equipped with tiny hooks that easily cling to animal fur, clothing, or other surfaces, aiding in its widespread dispersal. Its young leaves are consumed as a nutritious leafy vegetable in some cultures.

Growing Instructions

Prepare a mixture of half potting soil and half sand, perlite or vermiculite. Water the mixture so that it is moist but not wet.

Put the seeds on the soil.  

Cover the seeds with a thin layer of soil.

Water the seeds.   

Place the pots in an area with warm temperatures in full sun or part shade.  

When the seedlings are a few inches tall, they can be transplanted.