Baccharis bigelovii
Baccharis pilularis
Bigelow's false willow
chaparral broom, coyote brush, dwarf chaparral false willow
erect to ascending, slender, striate-angled, glabrous, resinous.
spreading to ascending, dark brown, shiny, striate-angular, glabrous, often ± scurfy, usually resinous and sticky.
present at flowering; short-petiolate;
blades (1- or obscurely 3-nerved) obovate to oblanceolate, 20–35 × 3–15 mm, distally reduced and narrowed, bases cuneate, margins irregularly incised to coarsely serrate or 2-serrate, faces glabrous, gland-dotted, resinous.
present at flowering;
sessile or short-petiolate;
blades (1- or 3-nerved) oblanceolate to obovate, the smaller 5–40 × 2–15 mm (thick), bases cuneate, margins entire or coarsely dentate (teeth 3–9 distal to middles), faces glabrous, gland-dotted, resinous.
campanulate;
staminate 4–5 mm, pistillate 4–5 mm.
hemispheric to campanulate;
staminate 3.2–5 mm, pistillate 3–6 mm.
25–30;
corollas 2–2.6 mm.
19–43;
corollas 2.5–3.5 mm.
15–20;
corollas 3.5–4 mm.
20–34, 3–4 mm.
lanceolate, 1–4 mm, margins scarious, medians green, apices acute, erose.
ovate to lanceolate, 1–3 mm, margins yellowish, scarious, medians yellow proximally, green distally, apices obtuse to acute or acuminate (erose, abaxial faces papillose-scurfy).
(20–50) in corymbiform arrays.
(100–200+) in (leafy) paniculiform arrays.
1.5–2.2 mm, 5-nerved, glabrous;
pappi 3–4.5 mm.
1–2 mm, 8–10-nerved, glabrous;
pappi 6–9 mm.
Baccharis bigelovii
Baccharis pilularis
Baccharis bigelovii occurs in the general Chihuahuan Desert region in the Davis Mountains of West Texas, and in the Chiricahua and Huachuca mountains of Arizona. It is recognized by the relatively short stature, obovate, coarsely and irregularly serrate leaves, erose-ciliate phyllaries, and 5-nerved cypselae. It is similar to B. thesioides, which differs mainly by having narrower, more oblong leaves with more evenly serrate margins and spinulose teeth. Further investigation may show these two taxa to be different geographic expressions of a single species centered in Mexico.
(Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.)
Subspecies 2 (2 in the flora).
Baccharis pilularis can be distinguished by its dark brown stems, and serrate, obovate to oblanceolate leaves. In addition, plants from some dunes of the California coast are prostrate, a growth form unique to this genus in our region.
The common, weedy, widespread form is subsp. consanguinea, which is typically erect, with its larger leaves 15–40 mm. Subspecies pilularis is known only from exposed sandy dunes and bluffs along the central coast of California. Its growth habit is matlike, and its larger leaves are 5–15 mm. The prostrate habit of subsp. pilularis is strikingly different from the upright habit of subsp. consanguinea.
C. B. Wolf (1935) demonstrated that in at least some populations, the distinction between prostrate and erect forms has a genetic basis. Transplants from the wild of the prostrate and erect forms retained their respective growth habits when grown together in a sheltered location and the morphology of seedlings reflected the habit of the parents. Wolf’s arguments for recognizing the forms as subspecies are further supported by the existence of prostrate cultivars in the horticultural trade. On the other hand, both erect and prostrate forms grow in proximity throughout the range of subsp. pilularis. In many areas the forms intergrade completely; in others they can be easily distinguished. Two subspecies are recognized here, notwithstanding difficulties in identifying habit from pressed specimens, or by observations of populations where both growth forms coexist. Further study is needed, perhaps utilizing molecular characters and detailed observations of native populations.
(Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.)
1. Stems erect, rarely prostrate, brittle, forming erect or rounded shrubs; leaves mostly 15–40 mm; noncoastal and coastal California, Oregon | subsp. consanguinea |
1. Stems prostrate, flexible, forming mats; leaves mostly 5–15 mm; sandy, exposed habitats of coastal California | subsp. pilularis |
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