Baccharis pilularis, called Coyote Brush (or Bush), Chaparral Broom, and Bush Baccharis, is a shrub

Shrub

A shrub or bush is distinguished from a tree by its multiple stems and shorter height, usually under 5–6 m tall. A large number of plants may become either shrubs or trees, depending on the growing conditions they experience...

 in the Asteraceae

Asteraceae

The Asteraceae or Compositae , is an exceedingly large and widespread family of vascular plants. The group has more than 22,750 currently accepted species, spread across 1620 genera and 12 subfamilies...

 that grows in California

California

California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...

, Oregon

Oregon

Oregon is a state in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States. It is located on the Pacific coast, with Washington to the north, California to the south, Nevada on the southeast and Idaho to the east. The Columbia and Snake rivers delineate much of Oregon's northern and eastern...

, and Baja California

Baja California

Baja California officially Estado Libre y Soberano de Baja California is one of the 31 states which, with the Federal District, comprise the 32 Federal Entities of Mexico. It is both the northernmost and westernmost state of Mexico. Before becoming a state in 1953, the area was known as the North...

.

Description

This shrub is generally smaller than 3 meters in height. It is glabrous and generally sticky. The stems are prostrate to erect which branches spreading or ascending. The leaves are 8–55 mm long and are entire to toothed and oblanceolate to obovate, with three principal veins. The heads are in a leafy panicle. The involucres are hemispheric to bell shaped. This species is dioecious (pistillate and staminate flowers occur on separate plants). Both staminate and pistillate heads are 3.5–5 mm long. Phyllaries are in 4–6 series, ovate, and glabrous. The receptacles are convex to conic and honeycombed. The staminate flowers range from 20–30 and there are 19–43 pistillate flowers. They are found in a variety of habitats, from coastal bluffs to oak woodlands. Erect plants are generally mixed (and intergrade completely) with prostrate plants.

It is known as a secondary pioneer plant in communities such as coastal sage scrub and chaparral. In California grasslands, it comes in late and invades and increases in the absence of fire or grazing. Coyote bush invasion of grasslands is important because it helps the establishment of other coastal sage species. Coyote bush is common in coastal sage scrub, but it does not regenerate under a closed shrub canopy because seedling growth is poor in the shade. Coast live oak, California bay, or other shade tolerant species replace coastal sage scrub and other coyote bush-dominated areas, particularly when there hasn't been fire and grazing.

Cultivation

Coyote bush is used frequently in cultivation, with the cultivar

Cultivar

A cultivar'Cultivar has two meanings as explained under Formal definition. When used in reference to a taxon, the word does not apply to an individual plant but to all those plants sharing the unique characteristics that define the cultivar. is a plant or group of plants selected for desirable...

 ground cover selections having various qualities of height, leaf color, and texture. It requires good drainage and moderate summer watering. Coyote brush is also drought tolerant, very useful for hedges or fence lines and for ground cover. It is rather deer-proof. It requires watering once a week until established and then about once per month during the first summer. It can mature in one to two years.

The Jepson Manual calls the erect plants just Baccharis pilularis, the same name as the ground cover form. They are considered the same species, because the short and tall plants intergrade completely. Yet only male plants are utilized in landscaping for Baccharis pilularis. If these are substituted for B. pilularis consanguinea in ecological restoration, there will not be as much seed set and recruitment of new individuals. Baccharis species are nectar sources for most of the predatory wasps, native small butterflies and native flies.

Sources

• Baccharis pilularis consanguinea
• Botanical and ecological characteristics
• Hickman, James C., Ed. The Jepson Manual: Higher plants of California. 1993. University of California Press: Berkeley, Los Angeles, and London.