Bidens genus belongs to Asteraceae family. The family contain about 200 species. They are distributed throughout the tropical and warm temperate regions of the world. Most species occur in the Americas, Africa, and Polynesia, and there are some in Europe and Asia. Bidens is closely related to the American genus Cosmos, Coreopsis. Genus name comes from the Latin words bis meaning twice and dens meaning a tooth. The plants are zoochorous; their seeds will stick to clothing, fur or feathers, and be carried to new habitat.

Bidens aurea is an herbaceous perennial, belongs to Asteraceae family as all the other bidens. It is native from Southern States of USA to Guatemala. Aurea epithet means golden. Plant called Tickseed or Beggarstick as the shape of two-pronged seed, which resembles the shape of a tick.

Bidens aurea, is a spreading plant which features cosmos-like showy flowers with paler white-yellow rays and darker yellow centres atop erect. Soft, thin stems rises up to 100 cm high. 8-15 cm long lanceolate leaves are green in colour, with teeth on the margins. Beggarstick is in flower from September to December. It is grown in sandy, medium and heavy but well-drained, moist soil in full sun. It is hardy to -10 ˚C. It is hermaphrodite and is pollinated by insects.

The stems tend to become ragged and the pot constantly topples over. Bidens aurea should not be cut it down at the end of the year. It is better to leave the top growth as a protective layer until the following spring. If its height offends in winter, stems can be reduced by a third. They can be cut hard in spring after the worst of the weather is over.

Beggarstick pops up some distance away, weaving itself in among other plants rather than smothering them. In the border one is never sure whether newly appearing shoots are seedlings or an escapee runner.

Use in Landscape: As a hardy and showy flowered plant preferred for natural gardens. It does not need much maintenance. Bidens aurea is also excellent hovering above purple-red dahlias which flower at the same period. Verbena bonariensis or red leaved Penstemon digitalis “Husker red” may be used with this plant to create a lovely contrast.