Bidens tripartita (PROSEA)

Plant Resources of South-East Asia Introduction

List of species

Bidens tripartita L.

Protologue: Sp. pl. 2: 831 (1753).

Vernacular names

• Trifid bur-marigold, three-lobed butterbur (En).
• Bident tripartite (Fr)
• Vietnam: thủy song nha.

Distribution

From Europe and northern Africa to the Himalayas, China, Japan, Taiwan, Vietnam, the Philippines, West Java and New Guinea (Irian Jaya).

Uses

In China, a decoction of B. tripartita is recommended in treating chronic dysentery, heart ailments, as a refrigerant and as a wash to treat chronic eczema. The roots and seeds are used as emmenagogue, expectorant, diuretic and also against kidney-stones and gallstones. B. tripartita also yields a black dye which is used as a hair dye in China.

Observations

• An annual, erect herb up to 1(-1.5) m tall, stem 4-angular, glabrous or sparsely pubescent.
• Leaves opposite, the upper ones sometimes alternate, pinnately 3-5-lobed or rarely entire, up to 13 cm long, sparsely pubescent below, margins coarsely serrate, terminal segment larger, sessile or on a short and winged petiole.
• Capitula solitary, not radiate, 10-20 mm broad, outer involucral bracts 5-10, foliaceous, oblanceolate, 10-35(-45) mm long, inner ones ovate-lanceolate, 6-12 mm long.
• Ray flowers absent, disk flowers with 4-4.5 mm long, yellow corolla.
• Achene narrowly obovate, compressed, 6-11 mm long, with 2(-3) retrorsely barbed bristles.

B. tripartita occurs in moist, open habitats like watersides, swampy pastures and paddy fields, up to 1700 m altitude.

Selected sources

• Backer, C.A. & Bakhuizen van den Brink Jr, R.C., 1963-1968. Flora of Java. 3 volumes. Noordhoff, Groningen, the Netherlands. Vol. 1 (1963) 647 pp., Vol. 2 (1965) 641 pp., Vol. 3 (1968) 761 pp.
• Bremer, K., 1994. Asteraceae, cladistics & classification. Timber Press, Portland, Oregon, United States. 752 pp.
• Christensen, L.P., Lam, J. & Thomasen, T., 1990. Chalcone and other constituents of Bidens tripartitus. Phytochemistry 29(10): 3155-3156.
• Council of Scientific and Industrial Research, 1988. The wealth of India: a dictionary of Indian raw materials & industrial products. Revised Edition. Vol. 2B. Publications and Information Directorate, New Delhi, India. xlii + 350 + 90 pp.
• Grieve, M., 1994. A modern herbal. Tiger Books International, London, United Kingdom. 912 pp.
• Li, H. L., 1978. Compositae. In: Li, H. L., Liu, T, S., Huang, T. C., Koyama, T. & DeVol, C.E. (Editors): Flora of Taiwan. Vol. 4. Epoch Publishing Co., Taipei, Taiwan, Republic of China. pp. 768-965.
• Perry, L.M., 1980. Medicinal plants of East and Southeast Asia. Attributed properties and uses. MIT Press, Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States & London, United Kingdom. 620 pp.
• Sherff, E.E., 1937. The genus Bidens. 2 parts. Field Museum of Natural History 16: 1-709.

Main genus page

• Bidens (Medicinal plants)

Authors

• D.S. Alonzo & J.W. Hildebrand