The green links below add additional plants to the comparison table. Blue links lead to other Web sites.
enable glossary links

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
from FNA
AZ; CA; CO; NM; NV; TX; UT; Mexico; South America
[WildflowerSearch map]
[BONAP county map]
from FNA
AL; FL; GA; LA; MS; NC; SC
[WildflowerSearch map]
[BONAP county map]
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
B. angustifolia, B. bigelovii, B. brachyphylla, B. dioica, B. glomeruliflora, B. glutinosa, B. halimifolia, B. havardii, B. malibuensis, B. neglecta, B. pilularis, B. plummerae, B. pteronioides, B. salicina, B. sarothroides, B. sergiloides, B. texana, B. thesioides, B. vanessae, B. wrightii
B. bigelovii, B. brachyphylla, B. dioica, B. glomeruliflora, B. glutinosa, B. halimifolia, B. havardii, B. malibuensis, B. neglecta, B. pilularis, B. plummerae, B. pteronioides, B. salicifolia, B. salicina, B. sarothroides, B. sergiloides, B. texana, B. thesioides, B. vanessae, B. wrightii
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)
Web links