Bidens biternata(Lour.) Merr. & Sherff

WFO wfo-0000023376 Accepted WFO 2026-06 4 photographs CC BY

Plate 1 figs. a–d · 1 observation

This species has been photographed under an open licence only 1 time, so some figures below are different views of the same plant, taken on the same day, rather than different individuals. They are usually different parts of it: the leaf, the flower, the bark.

Bidens biternata, photographed by Thomas Mesaglio
fig. a Thomas Mesaglio, CC BY 4.0 / 2020-03-17 / obs. 63976729
Bidens biternata, photographed by Thomas Mesaglio
fig. b Thomas Mesaglio, CC BY 4.0 / obs. 63976797
Bidens biternata, photographed by Thomas Mesaglio
fig. c Thomas Mesaglio, CC BY 4.0 / obs. 63976782
Bidens biternata, photographed by Thomas Mesaglio
fig. d Thomas Mesaglio, CC BY 4.0 / obs. 63976764

Every figure is a research-grade observation under CC0, CC BY or CC BY-SA, rehosted with the photographer’s name, the licence and the observation it came from. Photographs under a NonCommercial licence are excluded from this site and are never stored, which costs us a great many pictures and is not negotiable.

Native range 59 botanical countries

Regions where Bidens biternata is native: Angola, Benin, Botswana, Burkina, Cameroon, Cape Provinces, Central African Republic, Chad, Djibouti, DR Congo, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Free State, Ghana, Guinea, Ivory Coast, Kenya, KwaZulu-Natal, Lesotho, Mozambique, Namibia, Northern Provinces, Socotra, Sudan-South Sudan, Tanzania, Uganda, Zambia, Zimbabwe, Afghanistan, China North-Central, China South-Central, China Southeast, Hainan, Japan, Korea, Manchuria, Nansei-shoto, Oman, Saudi Arabia, Taiwan, Yemen, Assam, Cambodia, India, Jawa, Laccadive Is., Myanmar, Nepal, New Guinea, Pakistan, Philippines, Sri Lanka, Thailand, Vietnam, West Himalaya, Northern Territory, Queensland, Western Australia, Tonga AngolaBeninBotswanaBurkinaCameroonCape ProvincesCentral African RepublicChadDjiboutiDR CongoEritreaEthiopiaFree StateGhanaGuineaIvory CoastKenyaKwaZulu-NatalLesothoMozambiqueNamibiaNorthern ProvincesSudan-South SudanTanzaniaUgandaZambiaZimbabweAfghanistanChina North-CentralChina South-CentralChina SoutheastHainanJapanManchuriaOmanSaudi ArabiaTaiwanYemenAssamCambodiaIndiaJawaMyanmarNepalNew GuineaPakistanPhilippinesSri LankaThailandVietnamWest HimalayaNorthern TerritoryQueenslandWestern Australia KoreaNansei-shotoLaccadive Is.Tonga
Native distribution of Bidens biternata, after Kew’s World Checklist of Vascular Plants. Introduced, extinct and doubtful records are excluded, so this is where the plant is from, not everywhere it now grows. Regions too small to draw at this scale are marked with a dot.
RegionTDWG codeContinent
Angola ANG AFRICA
Benin BEN
Botswana BOT
Burkina BKN
Cameroon CMN
Cape Provinces CPP
Central African Republic CAF
Chad CHA
Djibouti DJI
DR Congo ZAI
Eritrea ERI
Ethiopia ETH
Free State OFS
Ghana GHA
Guinea GUI
Ivory Coast IVO
Kenya KEN
KwaZulu-Natal NAT
Lesotho LES
Mozambique MOZ
Namibia NAM
Northern Provinces TVL
Socotra SOC
Sudan-South Sudan SUD
Tanzania TAN
Uganda UGA
Zambia ZAM
Zimbabwe ZIM
Assam ASS ASIA-TROPICAL
Cambodia CBD
India IND
Jawa JAW
Laccadive Is. LDV
Myanmar MYA
Nepal NEP
New Guinea NWG
Pakistan PAK
Philippines PHI
Sri Lanka SRL
Thailand THA
Vietnam VIE
West Himalaya WHM
Afghanistan AFG ASIA-TEMPERATE
China North-Central CHN
China South-Central CHC
China Southeast CHS
Hainan CHH
Japan JAP
Korea KOR
Manchuria CHM
Nansei-shoto NNS
Oman OMA
Saudi Arabia SAU
Taiwan TAI
Yemen YEM
Northern Territory NTA AUSTRALASIA
Queensland QLD
Western Australia WAU
Tonga TON PACIFIC

Not drawn on the map: Socotra. We hold no public-domain boundary for this region, so it is listed rather than guessed at.

Region boundaries approximated from Natural Earth (public domain) and mapped to TDWG World Geographical Scheme for Recording Plant Distributions (WGSRPD) level-3 botanical countries (Brummitt 2001). Indicative, not the official WGSRPD geometry.

Also published as 37 synonyms

A synonym is not an error. It is a record of botanists disagreeing, in print, about where this plant belongs. Each of these was somebody’s considered answer.

  • Actinea biternata Spreng.
  • Bidens abyssinica Sch.Bip.
  • Bidens abyssinica Sch.Bip. ex Walp.
  • Bidens abyssinica var. abyssinica
  • Bidens abyssinica var. glabrata Vatke
  • Bidens abyssinica var. quadriaristata Hochst. ex Schweinf.
  • Bidens biternata f. abyssinica Sherff
  • Bidens biternata f. biternata
  • Bidens biternata f. lasiocarpa Sherff
  • Bidens biternata var. abyssinica (Sch.Bip.) Sherff
  • Bidens biternata var. biternata
  • Bidens biternata var. glabrata (Vatke) Sherff
  • Bidens chinensis (L.) Willd.
  • Bidens chinensis f. chinensis
  • Bidens chinensis f. simplicfolia O.E.Schulz
  • Bidens chinensis var. abyssinica O.E.Schulz
  • Bidens chinensis var. chinensis
  • Bidens cylindrica Sherff
  • Bidens kotschyi Sch.Bip.
  • Bidens lasiocarpa O.E.Schulz
  • Bidens mayebarai Kitam.
  • Bidens peduncularis Gaudich.
  • Bidens pilosa f. rubiflora S.S.Ying
  • Bidens pilosa var. abyssinica (Sch.Bip. ex Walp.) Fiori

and 13 more.

Sourcesevery claim on this page

  1. World Flora Online Plant List. accepted name, authority, classification. CC0. Retrieved 2026-07-12.
  2. iNaturalist. photographs and flowering annotations, CC0 / CC BY / CC BY-SA only. per photograph. Retrieved 2026-06-27.
  3. Kew, World Checklist of Vascular Plants (WCVP v16). native distribution by TDWG level-3 botanical country, and life form. CC BY 3.0. Retrieved 2026-06-04.

We publish what we can source and we say so when we cannot. This page has no care advice and no toxicity claim, because we do not yet have those from a source we can cite.