Laminated Specimen - Leaf

  --  3 pieces lot

Real Spanish Needle - Bidens pilosa leaf specimen laminated in square plastic sheet. The specimen is clear, transparent and indestructible. Safe, authentic and completely unbreakable product put the leaf right at your fingertips!

Anyone can safely explore the leaf from both sides.

Length of the leaf is 3.7 cm (1.5 inch).

Size of the lamination sheet is 7.6x7.6 cm (3x3 inch).

This is a handmade real specimen craft. Each one will be a bit different (specimen size, color and posture) even in the same production batch.

The pictures in the listing are just for reference as we are selling multiple pieces with same pictures.

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Spanish Needle - Bidens pilosa

Kingdom Plantae – Plants

Subkingdom Tracheobionta – Vascular plants

Superdivision Spermatophyta – Seed plants

Division Magnoliophyta – Flowering plants

Class Magnoliopsida – Dicotyledons

Subclass Asteridae

Order Asterales

Family Asteraceae – Aster family

Genus Bidens L. – beggarticks

Species Bidens pilosa L. – hairy beggarticks

Bidens pilosa is a cosmopolitan weed, originating from South America and common in all tropical and subtropical areas of the world. It often becomes dominant after the eradication of perennial grasses, and displays allelopathic effects on a number of crops.

It is an annual that grows up to 1 meter in height. This plant is considered a weed in some tropical habitats. However, in some parts of the world it is a source of food or medicine. For example, in sub-Saharan Africa, the tender shoots and young leaves are used fresh or dried as a leaf vegetable, particularly in times of scarcity.

This plant sprouts individual flowers which are small and yellow and which usually contain 4 to 5 white petals. The seeds are black and contain 4-5 black burrs which cling to livestock and humans.

In traditional Chinese medicine, this plant is considered a medicinal herb, called xian feng cao. Roots, leaves and seed have been reported to possess antibacterial, antidysenteric, anti-inflammatory, antimicrobial, antimalarial, diuretic, hepato-protective and hypotensive activities. Spanish needles are been used in traditional medicine systems for infections of all kinds: from such upper respiratory tract infections as colds and flu to urinary tract infections and venereal diseases-and even infected wounds on the skin. Research has begun to confirm these uses in several in vitro microbial studies.