Bidens, a common weed of pastures and vacant lots, has antiviral and antibacterial superpowers. Get to know it better. You never know when you might need to call on it as your herbal ally.
Invasive plants are God’s way of making sure we notice his medicines.
Bidens, an overlooked weed that will help you in the fight against MRSA infections
If you spend any time walking through pastures or vacant lots in July and August, you may have met Bidens. And if you haven’t met it, your dog probably has. Bidens sticks like a needle into your clothing. If your dog walks through a patch of Bidens, you’ll be picking the needle-like seeds out of his coat for hours. Also called, “beggarticks”, “Spanish needles,” “demon spike grass,” and “needle grass,” 1000 Biden seeds weigh less than a gram. If you walk through a patch of Bidens in the fall, and you’ll probably have 1000 seeds in your socks. Hint, wear jeans not your yoga pants when you go looking for it.
Most people hate getting tangled in Bidens, but when I tell how amazing it is, you’ll be tending your patch with love – and harvesting it before it sets seed. And that’s a win-win! In fact, this weed could save your life.
Bidens is prolific and one of the first plants to colonize disturbed ground. It is originally from South America and was spread by the Spanish during colonization. It is now widespread all over the world, growing at every elevation, and in most eco-ranges on the planet. Bidens will even grow in the desert. You probably have some growing near you, but if you don’t, you soon will.
The plant actively colonizes disturbed land. Like alfalfa, it gives off a toxin that inhibits the growth of competing plants, and therefore reduces domestic crop yields. But it is not toxic to grazing animals.
Bidens pilosa
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.
Bidens tripartita
How to Grow Bidens
Bidens is an annual. It grows easily from seed. If you do decide to plant it, be sure that it isn’t considered noxious in your area, first. Plant the seed 4 cm deep in moist soil in early spring. You can broadcast it or sow it in rows. Keep the soil moist until it emerges. Bidens lacy leaves are attractive and it is used as a potherb in much of the world. If you are using it for food, harvest the leaves when they are young, and use it as a spring tonic food. The plant gets more astringent as it ages, but don’t make it a major part of your diet. The high silica content can lead to problems.
If you are growing it medicinally, remove the flowers as they appear to extend the harvest window, retard seed maturation, and encourage leaf production. You will be able to get several harvests of leaves before Fall, depending on your climate. Older leaves are more astringent and drying than young leaves. In my tincture, I used a combination of both older and young leaves.
Seed head of B. pilosa
Bidens pilosa, also called Bidens leucantha, is the main species used for medicinal studies, but there are a number of other varieties in the Bidens genus that historical use and early studies suggest can also be used. The entire plant is medicinally active, including the roots. A lot of scientific studies have been done on the constituents of Bidens pilosa, identifying around 100 different plant chemicals so far. The most promising are the flavonoids, and the poly-acetylene compounds, having the broadest anti-microbial activity.
Herbalist Michael Moore was the first modern herbalist to recommend Bidens as a mucus membrane tonic. It not only removes the pain but also heals the tissue.
“Bidens may be our best herb for benign prostrate 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, Medicinal Plants of the Pacific West, p.71.)
Bidens increases the efficiency of the kidneys to excrete uric acid from the blood, decreasing the likelihood of a gout attack. It also acts as a tonic and preventive in gastritis and ulcers, diarrhea and ulcerative colitis.
“Because it is a mucus membrane tonic and is astringent, powerfully anti-inflammatory, and strongly antibacterial, it is specific for a number of diseases caused by resistant pathogens: UTIs, chronic diarrhea and dysentery, gastritis and ulcers (anywhere in the GI tract, from mouth to anus), inflamed mucous membranes in colds and flu and respiratory infections of any sort, sore throats from coughs or infection or even overuse of the throat, and vaginal infections.” (Stephen Harrod Buhner, Herbal Antibiotics, Natural Alternatives for treating drug-resistant bacteria, p.137)
Bidens actions:
- Antibacterial
- Antidiabetic
- Antidysenteric
- Anti-inflammatory
- Antimalarial
- Antimicrobial
- Antiseptic
- Astringent
- Blood tonic
- Carminative
- Diuretic
- Galactagogue
- Hepatoprotective
- Hypoglycemic
- Hypotensive
- Immunomodulant
- Mucous Membrane tonic
- Neuroprotectant
- Prostaglandin synthesis inhibitor
- Styptic
- Vulnerary
Bidens tripartita
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
- Kiebsiella pneumonia
- Leishmania amazonensis
- Mycobacterium tuberculosis
- Neisseria gonorhoeae
- Plasmodium spp.
- Pseudomonas aeruginosa
- Salmonella spp.
- Serratia marcescens
- Shigella Flexneri
- Staphylococcus aureus
- Staphylococcus epidermidis
Bidens is not very active against Aspergillus, a fungus that affects people with a weakened immune system.
When to Harvest Bidens:
While Michael Moore suggests harvesting the leaves during the growing season and drying the plant for tea, the antimicrobial actions of the plant are strongest when the fresh leaves are juiced or the fresh leaves are macerated in alcohol to make a tincture. Many of the active ingredients in the plant are soluble in alcohol but not in water.
For use as an antimicrobial, harvest the leaves fresh and make a tincture. Black pepper is synergistic and enhances the actions of Bidens. Use 5% freshly ground black pepper in your tincture for maximum synergy. However, black pepper should not be used if the tincture will be used in the treatment of severe GI illness. See the caution below.
Cautions:
Bidens possesses anti-diabetic properties. It lowers glucose levels, increases insulin sensitivity, and stimulates the release of insulin from the pancreas. It should be used with caution in people with insulin-dependent diabetes. Definitely speak to your doctor before using Bidens for its glucose-lowering properties if you are on insulin.
If you are using this tincture for severe intestinal infections such as E. coli or cholera, omit the pepper in the tincture. The pepper can increase intestinal permeability, which can allow the resistant organism access to your organs in greater numbers, making you much sicker.
Bidens in the treatment of Malaria
Alcohol tinctures of the fresh plant showed a 90% inhibition of the malarial parasite in vivo, while the dried plant tinctures showed a 65% inhibition rate and the water extracts only a 38% inhibition rate. This was the same whether resistant or non-resistant strains were used. In comparison, chloroquine-susceptible strains, when treated with chloroquine, will show a 99% inhibition. So Bidens is almost as effective as the drug on chloroquine-susceptible stains, but not quite.
On the other hand, when the parasite becomes resistant, Bidens continues to work. So when using Bidens for malaria, larger doses need to be taken for longer periods and only use the fresh leaf tincture.
Bidens effect on blood pressure and heart rate
Bidens has a relaxing effect on the vascular tissue, is a vasodilator, and relaxes the heart. It reduces the aorta resting tone and inhibits the KCL and CaCl2 induced contractions by 95%. The effects are long-lasting. It lowers blood pressure.
Pepper is synergistic to the actions of Bidens. Ginger is also a catalyst to the actions of Bidens, increasing circulation and moving the plant compounds throughout the body. The following tincture recipe contains both to help increase the effectiveness of Bidens in treating antibiotic-resistant disease.
Making a Broad-spectrum Antimicrobial Tincture with Bidens
Bidens should be tinctured using fresh leaves. The whole plant is active so you can use the seeds, leaves, stem, and roots if you like. It’s still early in the season and I am hoping to get another harvest of leaves before Fall, so I only took the leaves, flowers, and immature seeds in my harvest today.
Ingredients:
- 4 cups of freshly picked bidens leaves, compressed
- 6 tbsp. of pepper, freshly ground (omit if the person has diarrhea) Note that dried herbs and spices lose their effectiveness over time, so if your pepper is old, buy fresh whole pepper berries for this recipe.
- 1-inch piece of fresh ginger, peeled and coarsely grated
- 100 proof Vodka to fill a quart jar
Directions:
- Place fresh Bidens leaves, pepper, and ginger in a wide mouth quart jar.
- Fill with vodka or whiskey with the highest alcohol content you can find. In BC we are limited to 40% alcohol and this is sufficient. But if you can buy vodka or whiskey with a higher alcohol content you can use that.
- Macerate for 6 to 8 weeks, shaking the jar as often as you think of it. Strain.
- Bottle in colored glass bottles and cap tightly. Store in a cool dry place. The tincture should last several years.
Dose: 45 to 90 drops in water up to 4 x daily.
Notes:
Bidens is used to remediate toxic waste dumps and will absorb cadmium and arsenic. Don’t harvest leaves where they may have been exposed to toxic waste.
Check out other plants with strong anti-microbial actions:
Isatis tinctoria (Dryer’s Woad) as a natural antibiotic
Woad is also antiviral. See my guest post on The Herbal Academy
Calendula is also a mild antiviral It’s also antifungal and antimicrobial.
Elderberry stops viruses from replicating. It’s high in antioxidants as well as being antimicrobial.
Try these natural antibiotics for MRSA
Hint: Our best anti-microbials are also anti-oxidant, and anti-aging. Many are also anti-viral. How cool is that?
References:
Stephen Harrod Buhner. Herbal Antibiotics, natural alternatives for treating drug-resistant bacteria. Storey Publishing, 2012. pp. 127 – 140.
Michael Moore. Medicinal Plants of the Pacific West. Museum of New Mexico Press, 1993. pp.68-71.
Fantastic article, thank you!! I have a plant that appeared for the first time (tripartita) in my vegetable garden. I guess brought by a dove or rabbit that visit. I knew when I googled bidens and saw you had an article that it would be great.
Love your FB group !
Great article! Thank you! I make a Bidens alba salve that works great on cuts, skin irritations, excema, psoriasis, and cold sores. I also use it on my cats if they have cuts or sores.
I grow it organically, dry it, do oil infusion and then process into a salve. it’s a staple in my house.
This is the most thorough and informative article I’ve ever found on Spanish needle. I live in south Florida and they are everywhere! Thank you for your attention to detail. I’m new to making tinctures so am thrilled to find this site. I’ve read that Bidens “may be the new retinal”. Do you have any recipes for making a facial lotion or serum out of it?
I’m making a tincture of B. aristosa flowers and its turning nearly black. I’ve never tried this and can’t find a lot of medicinal information about aristosa specifically. would it still be about 45 drops? is it normal to turn black?
I have tons of Bidens Alba. Does this have any medicinal properties?
Would be willing to share some? I don’t have any where I live.
Hi Terri,
I live in Southwest Florida and make a salve out of Bidens alba. I grow it in my garden but it’s everywhere.
Dyer’s woad, not dryer..
Just sayin
Yes. A typo
So what are the chances that this would be effective against the COVID-19 virus since it seems to have similar properties as Hydroxychloroquine?
This is all very good and all, but where does a person buy viable seed?
I had one herbalist from America send me Bidens only to find out it was bipinatta, not pilosa.
I have seeds from my garden.
Bipannata has same healing properties.
Bipinatta are pretty good…
I’m taking a bidens tincture. How concerned should I be about silica? How long should a person take it for an acute issue?
Talk to a clinical herbalist or naturopath doctor about your specific concerns.
very informative, thanks
Am much grateful for the knowledge I will continue to follow you anytime.
has any good science been done to p[rove that its not just a placebo and
people actually get better faster on it.
I used to be upset every time I saw that weed in my garden , because It multiplies like a “ weed” . I hated that plant . I had no idea that I might be able to use it for my pre diabetic condition., Thanks for the internet and the bloggers .
Luba
I use it for prostate problems and bladder control. Works great and reaping all additional benefits at the same time. Bidens Tripartita is the most mild and not bitter of the 3 species I’ve used (Tripartita, Aristosa, Pilosa [most bittter]). (The photo of Tripartita in this article is some other species. Tripartita flowers do not have petals; they appear as a flower not yet
in bloom. It is close though).
Hi, Is there any major difference between B. Pilosa and B. tripartita? Also, what form of the plant – dried or fresh is preferable? Thank you.
Great info!
The pics look so much like Sweet Cicely (Osmorhiza) – there are many species, and seem to have the character of those???? I am very familiar with quite a few species of bidens…and can see some similarity in leaves…. I do love
bidens as medicine. Just check the plants in photos….The bidens flowers are comps, with or without petals but always with disc flowers, and the naked achenes are usually barbed on top – i don’t see those characteristics in the pics.
mimi
For those who want seeds- Wear pants. Walk through any empty lot or yard in New Orleans. Go home. Pick the seeds off your pants. You will have enough seeds for an entire meadow. lol. I also let it grow in the alley next to my house to keep thieves away. No one wants to walk through that stuff in shorts, for sure. Plant it anywhere your yard seems vulnerable next to some massive skin slicing pampas grass. Between the bees and the pain, NO ONE is going through that. Of course I use it for medicine. But it’s quite the guardian.
Hello,
We are in Virginia , US.
we found Bindens Aristosa, would like to make a tea, is it best to use the dried
leaves only or the whole plant. Can we drink this tea everyday.
thank you so much we enjoyed your article on Bindens
I wouldn’t drink it every day. It is on an as needed basis.
Hi, Mike and Lisa, it was nice talking to Mike on the phone today about herbs. Are you in the DIY Herbal Fellowship group on Facebook yet?
Hi can I get these seeds? Are more like these.
The recipe says to let the tincture sit for six to eight weeks. Any recommendation on what to do if I need to treat a UTI now and can’t wait? Don’t want to take antibiotics!!
If you have access to fresh bidens you can make a tea for immediate use.
Dawn, drink Cranberry Juice. It is recommended by hospitals. I was always bothered with UTI’s. I started drinking Cranberry juice, any brand, and lo and behold, it went away…on it’s own. My boyfriend just returned from Urgent treatment and along with the antibiotic Cipro, they told him to start drinking Cranberry juice. It has worked for me for years…but he wouldn’t listen to me, lol. Also Dawn, you may not want to take antibiotics, but do not let a UTI go very long without treatment. My Sister in law did that and she died! Was rushed to the Hospital and died within 24 hours.. A waste of life. She was 32 years old.
Yes, we use our own dried cranberries and make into capsule form with lots of water. Oh and remember I am not a doctor or proclaim to be in any way. LOL! We also use the organic cranberry juice, the good stuff ya know?
My grandmother never picked this for her greens so it will be an interesting taste treat for my next batch of greens.
I have type 2 diabetes and am planning on using raw vinegar (2 spoons to a glass of water) to help lower my sugar. I always tell my doctor about my planned herbal use and since she agrees on herbs, drinks raw milk, we usually see eye to eye. I simply eliminate the insulin on the day i first use anything so I can judge how much it lowers my sugar. I will get to the point where I do not have to take any medications at all through diet, exercise and herbs. This is a weed where I live, but I want to raise my own away from pesticides and herbacides. Do you know if it lowers the sugar a lot, a little?
Bidens posses anti-diabetic properties, lowers glucose levels, increases insulin sensitivity & stimulates the release of insulin from the pancreas. It should be used with caution in people with insulin-dependent diabetes. I copied this from the above article.
I just purchased Bidens Pilosa seeds from Etsy. They’re also available on Amazon. Will save tons of money now making my own tincture thanks to this article 🙂 🙂 However, for those who don’t want to make their own tincture, Woodland Essence and Etsy also carry Bidens Pilosa extract. Thanks for the awesome article I just discovered it today!
Can I use organic apple cider vinegar instead of the alcohol? If so, do you think it will be as effective?
A glycerite might be more effective than a vinegar infusion IF you plan to use it as an antimicribial. The vinegar infusion is only 5% acetic acid and since this is a fresh tincture it will be further diluted.
I was able to purchase a 100g bag of dried Biden’s Pilosa specifically to make tea from an online company in Australia. (www.middlepath.com). The price was $41 (U.S.). Instructions call for 1 tsp (1 gram) per cup, so I get 100 cups of tea out of the order. I currently attemping to brew a second serving to lower the cost per cup. If I can ever find the plant or seeds in Hawaii I’ll grow my own, but so far haven’t been able to find either. We have weeds in our yard, but none of them or Bidens unfortunately…lol
Hey there,
Just wondering…do the seeds have to be stratified or soaked for good germination if I wanted to plant seeds from this years early flowering plants to get a second planting yet this summer? I understand that they mature very quickly from seed to usable plant. I have some in the area, but would like to be able to harvest more than what’s currently growing. Thanks so much for the information. Quite remarkable!
That’s a good question. Mine just fall on the ground and germinate. So I don’t know if they have to be stratified. I think chilling them wouldn’t hurt though.
The place we live is backed up to Corps of Engineers property on a lakeline. Our kitty got out and got stuck in a tree back on the Corps property. While looking for him and trying to get him down, I got covered in the seeds. (yes…I was wearing knit leggings.) Anyway I’m picking them out of my coat, pants, and socks and putting them aside to plant this spring when we move to our homestead.
Anyone know if you can take bidens formula tincture while on an antibiotic eg Keflex?
Talk to your doctor, for sure. I wouldn’t mix them.
I have never herad of bidens before. Really interesting information. Thanks for sharing at Wildcrafting Wednesday and congrats on being a featured blogger.
Thank and Bless You for sharing
on B Pilosa. I just harvested and
hydrated it to package into tea bags
all leaves & stem or with flowers. Taste good with a pleasant fragrance. I shall also collect the seeds for future use.
Other herbs I am growing are Leea Indica, Vernonia Amygdalina, Pereskia, Moringa Olifera, Strobilanthes crispus, etc…
Stephen
goodnews333@yahoo.com
Singapore
I believe the bidens I have growing is B. Bipinnata. Does your source list this one as having the same medicinal properties as B. Pilosa?
Thanks!
It doesn’t mention B. bipinnata but that’s because B. pilosa is the variety that the scientific studies have been done on. B. frondosa, B. tripartitus, B. ferulaefolia, and B. alba are mentioned as being potent and in some cases stronger antimalarial herbs than B. pilosa. (Buhner,127)
Where can I buy the Biden seeds?
I don’t know anyone who sells seeds for it. But you should have some growing in the wild places near you. It’s a noxious weed. Or ask your friends online and they may be able to gather seeds for you in September, once it goes to seed. It’s all over the world now, having been transported from South America.
Do you know if Bidens alba will work? Someone actually sells it for greens at the local farmer’s market. I would be rich if I could sell all of it that grows in my yard. We pulled a pile at least 3 feet high from my front yard last week. There is at least 3x that amount on just one side of the house. A new tincture will be coming up soon.
My reference also lists B.alba as being potent.
Bidens Alba works fantastic.
Dang, that is cool!
Thats nice! We can enjoy vodka or whiskey with herbs that will be very beneficial for hearth. Loved the idea. Its the best stuff to share with people.
Regards
Stella
Great post! I love my herbs, but this one is new to me. Definitely going to share! 🙂
Thanks so much for sharing. It was new to me, too. And to think that I’ve been pulling it and composting it for so many years!