Flower profile

Spanish needles

Bidens bipinnata

Spanish needles (Bidens bipinnata) is a flowering plant in the Asteraceae family, native in the lower 48 states, blooming mostly July–September across the U.S.

Native to Kansas

Spanish needles is a wildflower that USDA PLANTS lists as native in the lower 48 states.

33states where USDA records it

335KS sightings*

7,406U.S. sightings*

*iNaturalist research-grade observations, as of October 17, 2026.

On our lists for: Kansas

Quick look

Bidens bipinnata is a common and widespread species of flowering plant in the family Asteraceae.
From Wikipedia's article Bidens bipinnata, CC BY-SA 4.0.

It belongs to the Asteraceae family. ^iNaturalist
USDA PLANTS describes it as an herb (forb) with a annual life cycle. ^{USDA PLANTS}
USDA PLANTS lists it as native in the lower 48 states and records it in 33 states. ^{USDA PLANTS}
NatureServe lists it as native to Kansas. ^NatureServe
iNaturalist has 335 research-grade sightings of it in Kansas, ranking #77 among the 151 flowers on our Kansas list. ^iNaturalist

When does it bloom?

Flowering records by month across the U.S. (iNaturalist research-grade observations marked “Flowering”) (537 records)

There are only a handful of Kansas flowering records, so this chart uses records from across the U.S.

Conservation status

Federal (U.S. ESA): Not listed No U.S. Endangered Species Act listing in the USFWS ECOS database. ^{USFWS ECOS}
NatureServe global: G5 Secure worldwide. ^NatureServe
Kansas: No list Kansas's endangered and threatened list (K.A.R. 115-15-1) covers animals only, so we show NatureServe's Kansas ranks for plants. NatureServe: S5, secure in Kansas.
Rare elsewhere: No other U.S. state ranks it S1, S2, SH or SX.

Checked October 17, 2026. Rankings and lists can change, so follow the links for the latest.

Can you eat it?

For peopleNot well documented

None of the sources we checked (NC State Extension (no page for this plant), USDA PLANTS) say whether it's edible or poisonous for people.

For petsNot well documented

It isn't on the ASPCA plant list.

🌿 Never eat a wild plant unless you're certain of its ID; this isn't medical advice. Worried about a person? Call Poison Control at 1-800-222-1222. Worried about a pet? Call your vet.

Where does it grow?

USDA PLANTS records spanish needles in 33 states plus Washington, D.C.

AKMEVTNHWAIDMTNDMNILWIMINYRIMAORNVWYSDIAINOHPANJCTCAUTCONEMOKYWVVAMDDEAZNMKSARTNNCSCDCOKLAMSALGAHITXFL

recorded by USDA PLANTS on our state lists not recorded

See the full list of states

Alabama, Arizona, Arkansas, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maryland, Massachusetts, Mississippi, Missouri, Nebraska, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, North Carolina, Ohio, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Virginia, West Virginia; District of Columbia.

Kansas counties with USDA records: Allen, Anderson, Atchison, Barber, Barton, Bourbon, Brown, Chase, Cherokee, Clark, Clay, Cloud, Coffey, Comanche, Cowley, Crawford, Dickinson, Doniphan, Douglas, Elk, Ellis, Ellsworth, Ford, Franklin, Geary, Graham, Greenwood, Hamilton, Harvey, Jackson, Jefferson, Johnson, Kingman, Kiowa, Labette, Lane, Leavenworth, Lincoln, Linn, Lyon, Marshall, McPherson, Meade, Miami, Montgomery, Morris, Nemaha, Neosho, Ness, Norton, Osage, Osborne, Pawnee, Phillips, Pottawatomie, Pratt, Reno, Republic, Rice, Riley, Rush, Russell, Saline, Scott, Sedgwick, Shawnee, Sheridan, Smith, Stafford, Stanton, Sumner, Trego, Wabaunsee, Washington, Wilson, Wyandotte.

Names, range and relatives

Native status by region (USDA PLANTS): Canada: Introduced; Lower 48 states: Native.

County records: USDA PLANTS lists it in 894 counties across 30 states; the most are in Virginia (94), North Carolina (79), Kansas (76).

Other Bidens on Bloomipedia (1): White beggarticks.

More from the Asteraceae family (212 on Bloomipedia; most observed first): Common yarrow, Goldenrods, White snakeroot, Sunflowers, Chicory, Black-eyed Susan, Bull thistle, Common dandelion.

More Kansas flowers

Sunflowers

Helianthus

★ KS state flower

🌼 Blooms in KS: July–September

Compass plant

Silphium laciniatum

Native

🌼 Few flowering records in KS

Common yarrow

Achillea millefolium

Native

🌼 Few flowering records in KS

Sources

USDA, NRCS. PLANTS Database, profile BIBI7.
iNaturalist, Bidens bipinnata: taxonomy, research-grade observation counts and “Flowering” annotations, retrieved October 17, 2026.
Wikipedia, Bidens bipinnata (lead quoted under CC BY-SA 4.0).
Kansas: Kansas noxious weeds (K.A.R. 4-8-44, as amended 2026).
USFWS, ECOS species database (ESA listing check), October 17, 2026.
NatureServe Explorer, Bidens bipinnata (global and state ranks).
Edibility and toxicity: no source found (marked "not well documented").
Photo: Anne Parker via iNaturalist · CC BY 4.0 · resized.