Baccharis salicifolia |
Baccharis angustifolia |
|
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mule's fat, mule-fat, seepwillow, water wally |
narrowleaf baccharis, saltwater false willow |
|
Habit | Shrubs, 30–400 cm (stems clustered). | Shrubs, 100–200(–400) cm (leafy, much branched, not broomlike). |
Stems | spreading to ascending, green to tan, simple proximally, sparingly branched distally, striate-angled, glabrous or minutely hairy, resinous and ± resin-varnished. |
erect to ascending, slender, striate, glabrous, resinous. |
Leaves | present at flowering (abundant, well developed); sessile or petiolate; blades lanceolate-elliptic, slightly falcate (willowlike), 30–150 × 3–20 mm, bases attenuate, margins usually finely serrate from bases to apices, sometimes entire, apices acute to acuminate, faces glabrous, gland-dotted, ± resinous. |
present at flowering; sessile; blades (1-nerved) 20–60 × 1–2(–5) mm, ± succulent, bases narrowly attenuate, margins mostly entire, apices acute, faces glabrous, not gland-dotted. |
Involucres | hemispheric; staminate 3–6 mm, pistillate involucres 3–6 mm. |
campanulate; staminate 3–4 mm, pistillate 3.5–5 mm. |
Pistillate florets | 50–150; corollas 2–3.5 mm. |
15–20; corollas ca. 3 mm. |
Staminate florets | (10–)17–48; corollas 4–6 mm. |
15–20; corollas 2.5 mm. |
Phyllaries | ovate to lanceolate, 2–4 mm, margins scarious, erose or irregularly dentate, midribs distinct, medians green or reddish, apices (greenish or brownish purple) obtuse to acuminate (pale and dry, glabrous). |
ovate to lanceolate, 1–4 mm, margins scarious, medians green, sometimes purplish, apices green to purplish, obtuse to acute. |
Heads | in terminal, compound corymbiform arrays (often involving distal branches). |
(in groups of 3–5 near branch tips) in broad paniculiform arrays (of 100+). |
Cypselae | 0.8–1.5 mm, 5-nerved, glabrous; pappi 3–6 mm. |
1–2 mm, 10-nerved, glabrous; pappi 6–8 mm. |
2n | = 18, 36. |
|
Baccharis salicifolia |
Baccharis angustifolia |
|
Phenology | Flowering (Jan–)Mar–Oct. | Flowering Sep–Nov. |
Habitat | Stream banks, dry washes, sandy flood plains, riparian woodlands, disturbed sites, ditches | Coastal salt marshes, hammocks, dune hollows, stream banks |
Elevation | 30–2400 m (100–7900 ft) | 0–20 m (0–100 ft) |
Distribution |
AZ; CA; CO; NM; NV; TX; UT; Mexico; South America
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AL; FL; GA; LA; MS; NC; SC
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Discussion | Baccharis salicifolia is part of a complex that extends through the southwestern United States, Mexico, Central America, and South America to Argentina and Chile (J. Cuatrecasas 1968). It is recognized by the narrowly lanceolate, willowlike, finely serrate leaves with acute or acuminate apices, smallish heads in dense clusters, reddish phyllaries, and 5-nerved cypselae. By tagging and measuring individual plants throughout the year, D. H. Wilken (1972) demonstrated that B. salicifolia has distinct seasonal forms. The North American plants were once known as B. glutinosa or B. viminea, which were differentiated from each other by differences in woodiness, leaf size and serration, and flowering time. (Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.) |
Baccharis angustifolia is most commonly found in brackish, marshy areas near the coast of Atlantic and Gulf coastal plains. It is easily recognized by its 1-nerved, relatively narrow and fleshy, entire leaves, and the more or less pyramidal arrays of relatively small heads. Rarely, some specimens have slightly broader leaves with an occasional tooth, perhaps due to introgression with B. halimifolia. (Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.) |
Source | FNA vol. 20, p. 31. | FNA vol. 20, p. 26. |
Parent taxa | Asteraceae > tribe Astereae > Baccharis | Asteraceae > tribe Astereae > Baccharis |
Sibling taxa | ||
Synonyms | Molina salicifolia, B. viminea, B. viminea var. atwoodii | |
Name authority | (Ruiz & Pavón) Persoon: Syn. Pl. 2: 425. (1807) | Michaux: Fl. Bor.-Amer. 2: 125. (1803) |
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