Bidens (bidenz)

[NL., barbed awns. They are coarse, usele weeds, but some of the species have conspicuous yellow flowers and are known as bur-marigolds. The persistency with which the achenes adhere to clothing and the coats of animals has given rise to the common name of beggar's - ticks or beggar's-lice. The root and seeds of B. bipinnata, known as Spanish needles, have had an ill-founded reputation as emmenagogues and as a remedy for acute bronchial affections. 2. In zoöl., a genus of hawks with two-toothed beak; same as Diodon or Harpagus (which see). Spix, 1834.