Bidens laevis

Bur-marigold

Family: Asteraceae · Type: perennial · Native

Bur-marigold is a California native perennial found in the Great Valley, Central Western, Southwestern, Southeastern Sierra Nevada, and Mojave River regions in freshwater wetlands at elevations below 2,000 meters. Flowering from August to November, this plant produces bright yellow ray flowers up to 3 centimeters long surrounding a yellow disk, creating distinctive daisy-like flower heads. Growing 2 to 2.5 meters tall with somewhat decumbent to erect cylindrical stems, it develops lance-shaped leaves that can be 5 to 15 centimeters long with serrated edges. Its leaves are simple and sessile, sometimes fusing at the base around the stem, creating a distinctive architectural pattern. The fruit develops as a narrow wedge-shaped structure with thin, barbed angles that help in seed dispersal.

Habitat: Freshwater wetlands

Bloom period: Aug-Nov

Elevation: < 2000 m

Bioregions: GV, CW, SW, SNE, DMoj (Mojave River)

Data from The California Species Project — 14,000+ California species with verified data from CNPS, CDFW, USFWS, Jepson eFlora, Cal-IPC, and more.