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Bidens micrantha subsp. micrantha

leaf Main Plant Information

Genus

Bidens

Species

micrantha

Subspecies

  • micrantha

Hawaiian Names with Diacritics

  • Kokolau
  • Koʻokoʻolau
  • Kōʻokoʻolau
  • Koʻolau

Hawaiian Names

  • Kokolau
  • Kookoolau
  • Koolau

Common Names

  • Beggarticks
  • Grassland beggarticks

Synonyms

  • Bidens degeneri
  • Bidens dichotoma
  • Bidens perversa
  • Bidens sandvicensis var. caduca
  • Bidens sandvicensis var. leiocarpa
  • Campylotheca dichotoma
  • Campylotheca micrantha
  • Campylotheca micrantha var. laciniata
  • Coreopsis dichotoma
  • Coreopsis micrantha

leaf Plant Characteristics

Distribution Status

Endemic

Endangered Species Status

At Risk

Plant Form / Growth Habit

  • Non-Woody, Clumping

Mature Size, Height (in feet)

  • Shrub, Dwarf, Less than 2
  • Shrub, Small, 2 to 6

Mature Size, Width

2 foot spread. [Ethan Romanchak, Native Nursery, LLC]

Life Span

No data available.

Landscape Uses

  • Ground Cover

Additional Landscape Use Information

This is a mid or low elevation, but not coastal, growing plant. [Ethan Romanchak, Native Nursery, LLC]

Source of Fragrance

  • No Fragrance

Plant Produces Flowers

Yes

leaf Flower Characteristics

Flower Type

Showy

Flower Colors

  • Yellow

Blooming Period

  • Year Round
  • Sporadic
  • Summer

Additional Blooming Period and Fruiting Information

This plant flowers all summer and sporadic year round. A medium-lived perennial, that will expire after several years, but does reseed often. [Ethan Romanchak, Native Nursery, LLC]

leaf Leaf Characteristics

Plant texture

  • Medium
  • Coarse

Additional Plant Texture Information

Leaves range between 1 to about 3 inches long.

Leaf Colors

  • Medium Green

leaf Pests and Diseases

Additional Pest & Disease Information

Few pests bother this plant. [Ethan Romanchak, Native Nursery, LLC]

leaf Growth Requirements

Fertilizer

Responds well to fertilizer for faster, greener growth. [Ethan Romanchak, Native Nursery, LLC]

Pruning Information

None necessary. [Ethan Romanchak, Native Nursery, LLC]

Water Requirements

  • Moist

Additional Water Information

Medium amounts of water. [Ethan Romanchak, Native Nursery, LLC]

Soil must be well drained

Yes

Light Conditions

  • Full sun

Soils

  • Clay
  • Sand
  • Cinder
  • Organic

leaf Environmental Information

Natural Range

  • Lānaʻi
  • Maui
  • Hawaiʻi

Natural Zones (Elevation in feet, Rainfall in inches)

  • 150 to 1000, 0 to 50 (Dry)
  • 1000 to 1999, 0 to 50 (Dry)

Additional Habitat Information

This species in general is found in a variety habitats such as dry, mesic and wet forests, sub-alpine and alpine shrublands of grasses and on sheer rock walls. While the subspecies micrantha (West Maui) is apparently secure in numbers, subsp. ctenophylla (leeward Hualālai, Hawaiʻi) is vulnerable and subsp. kalealaha (Lānaʻi and West Maui) is listed as a federally endangered species.

leaf Special Features and Information

Etymology

The name Bidens is derived from the Latin bi, two, and dens, teeth in reference to the pappus awns or collective bristles on the achenes (fruit, seeds).

The species and subspecies name micrantha is from the Greek meaning small-flowered.

Modern Use

All species of koʻokoʻolau can be brewed as a tonic and each are said to have distinct flavors. Regarding Bidens spp., Isabella Abbott comments that "I find that the roughly half a dozen species common in Hawaiʻi offer two or three slightly different flavors, each a bit more subtle than commercial black tea." [1]

Additional References

[1] "Lāʻau Hawaiʻi: Traditional Hawaiian Uses of Plants" by Isabella Aiona Abbott, page 102.

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This record is as complete as we can generate for this plant profile at this point. Please email nativeplantshawaii@gmail.com if you wish to contribute to the data. Please include sources and references for all data submitted