Bidens alba is a
vascular plant. It has a similar root and stem system to others in the
dicot family
Asteraceae. After germinating, the roots progress into a tap root that grows vertically in the ground. The primary tissue of the
apical meristems increases the length of the plant and the secondary roots of the
lateral meristems give rise to the width.
B. alba grows to a height of approximately five feet. The stem of
B. alba plant emerges from the taproot, yet the bent stem at the base also has the ability to grow into roots at the lower nodes. Stems are mostly hairless and green to purplish in color. The
vascular bundle provides nutrients throughout the plant, with the
xylem transporting water from the roots and the
phloem obtaining food from the leaves.
Bidens alba leaves, which are simple on the opposite side and compound on the underneath, are long and wide. The underside leaf is hairy, and has toothed edges. The leaves may be lobed, depending on the species. Some have teeth and some do not; each node produces two leaves along the stem. Each flowering head of
B. alba, which is small, appears in
radial symmetry. The flowers on this plant are depicted as daisy-like due to the larger white
petals and the very small yellow flowers which are located at the end of the branches. Colors of the flower-heads of
Bidens alba vary depending on the
subspecies; some
B. alba have yellow, tubular central blossoms and others may have flower-heads with white or cream petals ( long); eventually they form black linear seeds, yielding approximately 1200 seeds per plant. ==Cultivation==