Flora of North America species comparison

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Baccharis salicina

Great Plains false willow, willow-baccharis
Habit Shrubs, 100–300 cm (much branched).
Stems

ascending, striate-angled, glabrous, smooth or minutely roughened, resinous.
Leaves

present at flowering (numerous and well developed); short-petiolate;

blades (at least broader distinctly 3-nerved) oblong to oblanceolate, 25–70 × 5–10(–20) mm, bases tapering attenuate, margins usually serrate distally (teeth 1–3, coarse irregular, ca. 5 mm apart), sometimes entire, apices acute or obtuse, faces finely gland-dotted.
Involucres

narrowly obconic to campanulate;

staminate 4–7 mm, pistillate 5–9 mm.
Pistillate florets

25–30;

corollas 3–4 mm.
Staminate florets

20–25;

corollas 3–5 mm.
Phyllaries

lanceolate, 2–6 mm, margins scarious, medians green or reddish, apices greenish or purplish, often erose-ciliate, faces glabrous, gland-dotted, resinous.
Heads

(100–200+, short-pedunculate or sessile) in (large, crowded, leafy) paniculiform arrays.
Cypselae

1.2–2 mm, irregularly 8–10-nerved, glabrous;

pappi 8–12 mm (elongating in fruit).

Baccharis salicina
Phenology Flowering May–Nov.
Habitat Stream banks, alkaline meadows, roadsides
Elevation 300–1600 m (1000–5200 ft)
Distribution
from FNA
AZ; CA; CO; KS; NM; NV; OK; TX; UT; Mexico (Baja California, Chihuahua, Coahuila, Durango, Sonora)
[WildflowerSearch map]
[BONAP county map]
Discussion

Baccharis salicina is recognized by its narrow, gland-dotted leaves with 1–3 irregular teeth on the distal half, heads in loose leafy arrays, campanulate involucres, and cypselae with 8–10 ribs.

The recognition of Baccharis emoryi as a separate species in other floras has been based on its wider, glabrous, eglandular leaves, more cylindric pistillate involucres, and dense whitish pappi. It was said to occur both west of the Rocky Mountains and in western Texas. In our study, expressions of the characters used to distinguish B. emoryi from other species were found to be inconsistent and inadequate to warrant recognition as a distinct species. There appears to be a complex of up to four species—emoryi, salicina, neglecta and angustifolia—that intergrade from west to east. Characteristics progress from broader leaves and larger heads (emoryi form of salicina) to narrow leaves with small heads (neglecta, angustifolia). The delimitation of taxa within this complex merits further investigation.

(Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.)
Source FNA vol. 20, p. 32.
Parent taxa 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. salicifolia, B. sarothroides, B. sergiloides, B. texana, B. thesioides, B. vanessae, B. wrightii
Synonyms B. salicifolia, B. emoryi
Name authority Torrey & A. Gray: Fl. N. Amer. 2: 258. (1842)
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Unless otherwise noted, all data comes from the online version of the Flora of North America, who have made most of their content available via a Creative Commons license (CC BY 4.0).



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