beggar-ticks
Noun: 1. A plant with prickly fruits: Any of several plants belonging to the genus Bidens, characterized by yellow flowers and small, dry fruits with barbed spines that easily attach to animal fur or clothing. 2. The clinging seed itself: The seed or fruit of these plants, specifically the bur marigold, noted for its hooked spines that facilitate dispersal by sticking to passersby.
- Noun (Plant):
- The field was full of beggar-ticks, their yellow flowers bright against the green.
- After our hike, we had to pick dozens of beggar-ticks off our socks.
- Noun (Seed):
- My dog came back from the woods covered in beggar-ticks.
- The beggar-ticks clung stubbornly to the wool of my sweater.
- As a collective noun: The term can be used to refer to the seeds collectively.
- Her pant legs were matted with beggar-ticks.
- Bur marigold: Another common name for plants in the genus.
- Sticktight: A synonym often used for the clinging seed.
- Spanish needles: A regional name for similar plants.
- Bur: A general term for a prickly seed case.
- Clinging seed: A descriptive term for the fruit's behavior.
The term "beggar-ticks" primarily refers to the plant species and their distinctive, hitchhiking seeds. The name is derived from the seed's tendency to cling tenaciously, much like a beggar might persistently ask for aid. The two meanings (the plant and its seed) are intrinsically linked and often used interchangeably in casual context, with the meaning clear from the situation.
- any of several plants of the genus Bidens having yellow flowers and prickly fruits that cling to fur and clothing
- the seed of bur marigolds