Bidens
Three Lobe Beggarticks
(Bidens Tripartita L.)
Health Benefits. Uses. Preparation. Safety.
- By Milla Ezman
- 9 Comments
- Edited by Jisselle Regis
Bidens Tripartita is an attractive annual plant, with toothed lance-shaped leaves, yellow button like flower heads, and burlike fruit. It is considered to be very invasive mostly due to their effective pollination mechanisms and their distinctive dispersal adaptations, which allow seed distribution by humans, animals, wind, and water. Most sources say it can grow up to 2 ft (60 cm) but I’ve seen plants that were around 6-7 feet tall and 5 feet wide!
It is a remarkable and unique plant, too often overlooked and forgotten by most herbalists in the western botanic practice. Its safety and efficiency has been confirmed through long use as food and medicine in many regions of the world.
The plant is a mucous membrane tonic and powerful antibacterial, it not only stops the inflammation but also heals the mucous membranes themselves. Combined with its astringent and anti-inflammatory, and strong antibacterial powers, it is specific for treating diseases caused by resistant pathogens: UTIS, chronic diarrhea and dysentery, gastritis and ulcers…- the entire GI system in fact. As well as inflamed mucous membranes of the respiratory system caused by infections.
Michael Moore notes that “bidens has the ability to tighten, shrink, and tonify the structural cells of the mucus membranes, thereby preventing congestion and edema, while simultaneously increasing the circulation, metabolism, and healing energy of the functional cells of those tissues“.
M.Moore also considered bidens specific for reducing elevated levels of uric acid in the blood; as a gentle diuretic it stimulates uric acid elimination in the urine, preventing formation and helping in the elimination of kidney stones.
Bidens was found to have anti-inflammatory activity, as well as the ability to stimulate adrenal function.
The plant was administered in 16th and 17th century Europe for its astringent, diaphoretic, and diuretic properties; virtues endorsed by nearly all contemporary apothecaries.
In Russian traditional medicine, an infusion of the aerial part of B. tripartita L. is widely used in the treatment of catarrhal rhinitis, angina, acute respiratory infection, and as an anti-inflammatory in colitis, gout, and infantile rickets (Sokolov, 2000). Roots has very powerful antifungal effects.
Quite a wide range of applications for a noxious weed!
”Bidens may be our best herb for benign prostate hypertrophy, usually decreasing the membrane irritability both in the urinary tract and the rectum, and often, over a few weeks of use, noticeably shrinking the prostate and giving its connective tissue better tone.” – Michael Moore.
According to S.Buhner Bidens is active against:
“Bacillus cereus, Bacillus subtilis, Candida albicans, Human cytomegalovirus, Entamoeba histolytica, Enterococcus faecalis, (Streptococcus faecalis), Escherichia coli, Herpes simplex 1 and 2, Klebsiella pneumoniae, Leishmania amazonensis, Mycobacterium tuberculosis, Neisseria gonorrhoeae, Plasmodium spp., Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Salmonella spp., Serratia marcescens, Shigella flexneri, Staphylococcus aureus, Staphylococcus epidermidis”.
Common Names:
Botanical Name:
Bidens Tripartita L.
Plant Family:
Asteraceae/Compositae
Parts used:
Whole plant.
Taste:
Nutty, slightly bitter, not unpleasant at all.
Uses:
Systemic staph, malaria, babesiosis, leishmaniases, UTI, mouth and stomach ulcers, headaches, ear infections, chronic diarrhea, jaundice, dysentery, burns, arthritis, indigestion, swollen spleen, angina, coughs, colds and flu, adrenal support, high uric acid levels, gout, kidney stones, rheumatism, boils, baldness, vaginitis, prostate hypertrophy, diabetes, skin rashes, psoriasis and infected wounds. Source of calcium.
Key actions:
Anti-inflammatory, Antifungal, Antibacterial, Antidiabetic, Antidysenteric, Antimalarial, Antimicrobial, Antioxidant, Antiseptic, Astringent, Blood tonic, Carminative, Diuretic, Galactagogue, Hepatoprotective, Hypoglycemic, Hypotensive, immunomodulatory, Mucous membrane tonic, Neuroprotectant, Prostaglandin synthesis inhibitor, Styptic, Vulnerary
Constituents: flavonoids, butoxy lipids, coumaric acids, erythronic acid, phenylpropanoids, tannins, okanin flavonoids, stigmasterol steroids, quercetin flavonols, daucosterol, terpenes, and benzenoids.
The most active constituents are thought to be the polyacetylene compounds and the flavonoids. The acetylenes have shown the broadest-spectrum antimicrobial activity.
It also contains bitter principles and mucousage, carotene volatile oils, calcium.
History and Folklore
Beggarticks name came about because the seeds (barbs) stick to one like a tick, and it is usually seen on the clothing of those who wander through along roads and railways, such as beggars.
Nicholas Culpeper, writing in 1652, tells us that it was called Hepatorium “because it strengthens the liver…
– it ‘healeth’ and drieth, cutteth and cleanseth thick and tough humours of the breast and for this I hold it inferior to few herbs that grow . . . it helpeth the dropsy and yellow jaundice; it opens the obstruction of the liver, mollifies the hardness of the spleen, being applied outwardly. . . it is an excellent remedy for the third day ague; . . . it kills worms and cleanseth the body of sharp humours which are the cause of itch and scab; the herb being burnt, the smoke thereof drives away flies, wasps, etc. It strengthens the lungs exceedingly. Country people give it to their cattle when they are troubled with cough or are broken-winded.”
Carolus Linnaeus (1701-1778) described the genus in ‘Species Plantarum’, 1753, and ‘Genera Plantarum’, 1754. The type species was bur beggarticks, B. tripartita. The generic name Bidens (literally `two teeth’) evolved from the Latin ‘bis’, double, and dens, a tooth, in reference to the awns of the achenes.
Ancient Asian texts (Bencao Gangmu, 1596 AD-Chinese Materia Medica penned during the Ming dynasty) lists a few different types of bidens that were commonly used for snake bites, insect bites and chronic diarrhea. (Bidens pilosa and bidens tripartita).
The Native Americans would use a tea made with the leaves to get rid of worms. They also chewed the leaves to help relieve sore throats. The Shakers used the plant as an expectorant, for uterine issues, to treat heart palpitations and to induce menstruation and sweating. Ayurvedic medicine used it for glandular sclerosis, eczema, headaches, ear infections, toothaches and leprosy.
Growing:
It grows easily from seed. May be even too easily! you will know what I mean the second year after planting, when it starts popping up everywhere in your garden. Which I don’t mind at all.
Pick an area where it won’t become a problem when it starts spreading. Plant the seed 4 cm deep in the moist soil in early spring. You can broadcast it or sow it in rows. Keep moist, but don’t overwater, until it emerges.
If you are using it for food, harvest the leaves when young, as a spring tonic food. It gets more astringent as it ages as well as high silica content.
Suitable for: light (sandy), medium (loamy) and heavy (clay) soils. Suitable pH: acid, neutral and basic (alkaline) soils. It absolutely can grow in the shade, but prefers a sunny or partial sun spot, moist or wet soil.
USDA hardiness 5-9
When growing on the edge of a pond, its seeds have been known to kill goldfish by adhering to their gills.
Habitat & Cultivation: Bidens spp. grow throughout Europe, North America, and other temperate regions including Australia and New Zealand. They are found in damp places and near fresh water.
Harvest: Cut leaves before plant go into blooming. If you are growing it medicinally, pluck the flowers as they come out to extend your harvest window, prevent seed grow, and encourage leaf production. You will be able to get several harvests of leaves before the end of the season, depending on your climate. Older leaves are more astringent and drying than young leaves.
Preparation and Dosage:
• The most potent forms of this herb are alcohol tinctures and the fresh plant or its juice.
• Some of the plant’s most important constituents are destroyed by oxidation, so drying is not recommended. Heat also destroys them.
• About a two-thirds of the antimicrobial activity is reduced if the plant is not prepared fresh.
• The older the dried plant is, the less potent it will be in either water or alcohol extraction.
Tincture: Fresh plant ratio 1:2. 95% alcohol should be used.
Fresh juice: the leaves are very fibrous, so it’s best to chop them up before putting in your juicer. Large quantities of juice can be stabilized with alcohol (80/20 – juice/alcohol ratio) so it will keep. Dosage: 1/4-1 tsp up to 1 Tbsp in water. up to 6 times daily for up to 28 days.
Tincture and juice with alcohol will be more potent as the alcohol have the benefit of delivering the constituents into the bloodstream faster.
Fresh plant: During the summer months we use 1-4 leaves daily in our smoothies and in salads. The leaves can be eaten raw right off of the plant. I also freeze them, by blending with a bit of water (just enough to get my blender going) and then pouring into ice cubes trays, which are then emptied and stored in bags for the winter months use.
Infusion: Bidens tripartita is recommended for internal administration at the dose of 1 tablespoon of the infusion (10 g in 200 mL of water) taken 3–4 times a day and as one glass of an infusion of 10 g of cut herb together with 100 g of cooking salt or sea salt per bath for external use.
Safety: Safe for pregnant women, infants and during breastfeeding.
Allergy: Bidens may cause an allergic reaction in people who are sensitive to the Asteraceae/Compositae plant family. Members of this family include ragweed, chrysanthemums, marigolds, daisies, and many others. If you have allergies, be sure to check with your healthcare provider before taking bidens.
The Best Kept Secret
“In 1929, Alexander Fleming discovered Penicillin. It began to be readily available with WWII. At that time new antibiotics were being discovered daily. However, Dr. Fleming noted as early as 1929 that numerous bacteria were already resistant to Penicillin. At that time 14 percent of staph bacteria were resistant to penicillin. By 1995, with decades of widespread use of antibiotics, 95% of staph were resistant to penicillin. In 1960, when resistant staph had become the most common hospital-acquired infection, physicians started using methicillin to combat resistant strains. In just a year, MRSA (methicillin-resistant staph) emerged. 70 years from the introduction to antibiotics, some staph bacteria have become resistant to all known pharmaceutical antibiotics. Bacteria seem to be winning the “war on disease.”
Herbs are different than pharmaceuticals. Bacteria can develop immunity to pharmaceuticals because they represent only one, or a few, compounds. Natural herbs, on the other hand, are made up of hundreds of complex compounds that bacteria can’t develop immunity to. Bidens is a natural antibiotic that will successfully treat antibiotic-resistant bacteria. It outperforms penicillin, tetracycline, methicillin, and other antibiotics for both gram-positive and gram-negative bacteria.“
yours truly, Milla Ezman
Resources:
“Anti-hyperglycaemic and antioxidant effects of Bidens tripartita and quantitative analysis on its active principles” – https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5110660/
“Medicinal Plants of the Russian Pharmacopoeia; their history and applications” – https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0378874114002827
“Composition of the Essential Oil of Bidens tripartita L. Roots and Its Antibacterial and Antifungal Activities” – https://www.liebertpub.com/doi/10.1089/jmf.2010.0066
“Beggarticks” – http://wssa.net/wp-content/themes/WSSA/WorldOfWeeds/beggarticks.html
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** Information on the traditional uses and properties of herbs that are provided on this site is for educational use only, and is not intended as medical advice. Every attempt has been made for accuracy, but none is guaranteed. Many traditional uses and properties of herbs have not been validated by the FDA. If you have any serious health concerns, you should always check with your health care practitioner before self-administering herbs. **
9 thoughts on “Bidens Tripartita (Three Lobe Beggarticks). Health Benefits. Uses. Preparation. Safety.”
What a great herb. Thank you for such and informative article! Beggarticks does not seem to be a very popular herb in the US. Most medicinal info for Three Lobe Beggarticks I have found is from Eastern Europe. I have harvested a huge 5 ft plant I found here near Atlanta GA, dried and cut it up for teas. It produces dark (tannins) tea, but does not have an unpleasant taste. I may make tincture from it. It has so many uses and has a few for me.
What a great herb. Thank you for such and informative article! Beggarticks does not seem to be a very popular herb in the US. Most medicinal info for Three Lobe Beggarticks I have found is from Eastern Europe. I have harvested a huge 5 ft plant I found here near Atlanta GA, dried and cut it up for teas. It produces dark (tannins) tea, but does not have an unpleasant taste. I may make tincture from it. It has so many uses and has a few for me.
I wish I had your knowledge. Thanks so much for all your wonderful info.
Here in Northwest Flordia we have Bidens Alba. I do landscaping and used to abhor this weed! Lol. Now I allow it everywhere on my property and tincture it in PGA. I wasn’t aware it’s edible as well! Thank you so much!
How do you tincture it?
How would I prepare this to be used for eczema or psoriasis?
Bidens most potent when fresh, so adding the leaves to your smoothie and juicing would be most beneficial.
Thanks for the wonderful write-up! The main species here in N. Alabama is Bidens discoidea. Should it have many of the same properties?
Hi! No, unfortunately, I haven’t found any sources that mention the Bidens discoidea. It isn’t necessarily mean that it doesn’t have any medicinal properties.