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Asteraceae family

Kokolau Bidens amplectens

Native Specialist-bee host
Also known as: Koko'olau

Kokolau is an annual shrub native to Hawaii. A host for pollen-specialist native bees.

More about this plant

Bidens amplectens, the Waiʻanae kokoʻolau, is a species of flowering plant in the family Asteraceae. It belongs to the genus Bidens, collectively called kokoʻolau or koʻokoʻolau in the Hawaiian language. It is found in coastal and dry lowland habitats in the Waiʻanae Range on Oʻahu. It is threatened by habitat loss due to the spread of invasive weeds and brush fires. The species is also threatened by climate change and habitat degradation, and herbivory. Bidens amplectens is currently listed as endangered under the Endangered Species Act. Wikipedia →

Growing & care

USDA PLANTS · TRY
Size & form
Sources · Size & form
USDA PLANTS — Lifespan
TRY Plant Trait Database (CC BY 4.0) — Foliage
Lifespan
Annual
Foliage
Broadleaf
In the garden
Shrub layer — Sits in the shrub of a layered food forest or polyculture.Open guide →
derived roles
Species characteristics from USDA PLANTS (public domain) + TRY (CC BY) — general guidance, not a guarantee for your exact site. Deer "browsing" is documented palatability, not a deer-proof claim.

Wildlife & pollinators

How pollinator value is scored →
❧ Caterpillar hosts ~15 caterpillar species

Bidens supports ~15 caterpillar species.

Native butterfly & moth caterpillars are the base of the terrestrial food web — most songbirds rear their young almost entirely on them. As a host for native Lepidoptera this is a moderate genus.

Recorded feeding on Bidens in North America, including:

Agonopterix atrodorsella · concealer moth Charidryas gorgone · brush-footed butterfly Cirrhophanus triangulifer · Goldenrod Stowaway Condica concisa · owlet moth Condica cupentia · Splotched Groundling Condica mobilis · Mobile Groundling
+ 8 more species →
Epiblema otiosana · Bidens Borer Homoeosoma electella · Sunflower Moth Homoeosoma electellum · snout moth Lacinipolia basiplaga · owlet moth Lorita abornana · leafroller moth Mescinia estrella · snout moth Nathalis iole · Dainty Sulphur Neumoegenia poetica · Poetry Moth
Keystone count (genus-level) from Warren II 2026 (CC0) · Tallamy host-use records. Named species (a documented Nearctic sample, not exhaustive) from NHM HOSTS (CC0).
✦ Bees specialist-bee host

Specialist native bees depend on it.

Some native bees are pollen specialists (oligolectic) — they raise young only on pollen from particular plant genera. Bidens is a recorded specialist-bee host, so losing it can mean losing the bee that relies on it.

Xerces pollinator conservation →
Specialist hosts from Smith et al. 2024.
Species thumbnails re-hosted from iNaturalist — Creative Commons, credited per image (hover for credit). Click any species to see it on iNaturalist. Not exhaustive; many taxa have no openly-licensed photo yet.
Sources for this entry (15) Open & cited
[01] Scientific name & family — USDA PLANTS (DwCA, Zenodo 17903503)
[02] Growth habit & duration — USDA PLANTS (DwCA, Zenodo 17903503)
[03] Native status & distribution — USDA PLANTS (DwCA, Zenodo 17903503)
[04] Common name — USDA PLANTS (via GBIF)
[05] Invasive / introduced status — USDA PLANTS (DwCA, Zenodo 17903503) — native status
[07] Description — Wikipedia (CC BY-SA)
[08] Ecological value — Warren II 2026 (CC0) · Tallamy host-use counts · Smith et al. 2024 (CC BY)
[09] Conservation rank — NatureServe Explorer (CC BY)
[10] Federal ESA status — USFWS ECOS (U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service)
[12] Other common names — Wikidata (CC0)
[13] Caterpillar host count — Warren II 2026 (Dryad, CC0) · Tallamy host-use counts
[14] Caterpillar species — NHM HOSTS (CC0)
[15] County range — GBIF Open Data — open-licensed occurrences (CC0/CC-BY) → county
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