Baccharis pilularis, called coyote brush[2] (or bush), chaparral broom, and bush baccharis, is a shrub in the family Asteraceae native to California, Oregon, Washington, and Baja California.[3] There are reports of isolated populations in New Mexico, most likely introduced.[4][5][6]
| Baccharis pilularis | |
|---|---|
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Scientific classification 
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| Kingdom: | Plantae |
| Clade: | Tracheophytes |
| Clade: | Angiosperms |
| Clade: | Eudicots |
| Clade: | Asterids |
| Order: | Asterales |
| Family: | Asteraceae |
| Genus: | Baccharis |
| Species: | B. pilularis
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| Binomial name | |
| Baccharis pilularis | |
| Synonyms[1] | |
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Distribution and habitat
editThe plants are found in a variety of habitats, from coastal bluffs, oak woodlands, and grasslands, including on hillsides and in canyons, below 2,000 feet (610 m).
Coyote brush is known as a secondary pioneer plant in communities such as coastal sage scrub and chaparral. It does not regenerate under a closed shrub canopy because seedling growth is poor in the shade. Coast live oak, California bay, Rhus integrifolia, and other shade producing species replace coastal sage scrub and other coyote bush-dominated areas, particularly when there has not been a wildfire or heavy grazing.
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. However, establishment of coyote bush can be concerning because it also displaces highly biodiverse grassland habitat that are important to carbon storage and resilient to wildfires. After grassland restoration, coyote bush can be a major concern and plant invader that overtakes grassland habitat, especially if restoration activities are limited and nonperiodic.[7]
Description
editThe Baccharis pilularis shrub is generally smaller than 3 metres (9.8 ft) in height. Erect plants are generally mixed with (and sometimes grow to become) prostrate plants. Its leaves are smooth, without spines or hairs, and generally sticky to the touch.[8]
The stems are prostrate to erect with branches spreading or ascending. The leaves are 8–55 millimetres (0.31–2.17 in) long and are entire to toothed and oblanceolate to obovate, with three principal veins.[8]
The flower 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 millimetres (0.14–0.20 in) 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.[8]
This and other Baccharis species are nectar sources for most of the predatory wasps, native skippers (small butterflies), and native flies in their ranges.
- Baccharis pilularis subsp. consanguinea (DC.) C.B.Wolf — primarily in coastal chaparral
- Baccharis pilularis subsp. pilularis — sandy coastal bluffs and beaches in California.
Cultivation
editBaccharis pilularis is cultivated as an ornamental plant, and used frequently in drought tolerant, native plant, and wildlife gardens, and in natural landscaping and habitat restoration projects. The cultivar ground cover selections have various qualities of height and spread, leaf colors, and textures. The upright forms are useful for hedges and fence lines, and year-round foliage.
Coyote brush is usually deer-resistant. The plants are also drought tolerant after maturity, requiring watering once a week until established, and then about once per month during the first summer. They can mature in one to two years. The plants prefer good drainage.
Only male plants of Baccharis pilularis are cultivated for landscaping use. If these are substituted for Baccharis pilularis subsp. consanguinea in ecological restoration, there will not be as much seed set, nor recruitment of new individuals.
Cultivars
editCultivars, often with the common name "dwarf coyote brush" or "dwarf baccharis" indicating ground cover selections, include:
- Baccharis pilularis 'Pigeon Point'—from Pigeon Point, California coast.[9]
- Baccharis pilularis 'Twin Peaks'—from coast along Sonoma to Monterey Counties.[10]
- Baccharis pilularis 'Santa Ana'[11]
See also
editReferences
edit- ^ a b "Baccharis pilularis DC.". The Global Compositae Checklist (GCC) – via The Plant List. Note that this website has been superseded by World Flora Online
- ^ Steinberg, Peter D. (2002). "Baccharis pilularis". Fire Effects Information System (FEIS). US Department of Agriculture (USDA), Forest Service (USFS), Rocky Mountain Research Station, Fire Sciences Laboratory. Retrieved 26 May 2015.
- ^ CONABIO. 2009. Catálogo taxonómico de especies de México. 1. In Capital Nat. México. CONABIO, México D.F.
- ^ USDA, NRCS (n.d.). "Baccharis pilularis". The PLANTS Database (plants.usda.gov). Greensboro, North Carolina: National Plant Data Team. Retrieved 23 March 2013.
- ^ Bogler, David (2012). "Baccharis pilularis". In Jepson Flora Project (ed.). Jepson eFlora. The Jepson Herbarium, University of California, Berkeley. Retrieved 2018-03-23.
- ^ "Baccharis pilularis". County-level distribution map from the North American Plant Atlas (NAPA). Biota of North America Program (BONAP). 2014.
- ^ Luong, Justin C. (4 March 2022). "Nonperiodic grassland restoration management can promote native woody shrub encroachment". Restoration Ecology. 30 (8): e13650. doi:10.1111/rec.13650.
- ^ a b c d Sundberg, Scott D.; Bogler, David J. (2006). "Baccharis pilularis". In Flora of North America Editorial Committee (ed.). Flora of North America North of Mexico (FNA). Vol. 20. New York and Oxford: Oxford University Press – via eFloras.org, Missouri Botanical Garden, St. Louis, MO & Harvard University Herbaria, Cambridge, MA.
- ^ "Theodore Payne.org: Baccharis pilularis 'Pigeon Point'". Archived from the original on 2015-03-21. Retrieved 2013-03-18.
- ^ Las Pilitas: Baccharis pilularis "Twin Peaks"
- ^ Las Pilitas: Baccharis pilularis ' Santa Ana'
External links
edit
Media related to Baccharis pilularis at Wikimedia Commons
Data related to Baccharis pilularis at Wikispecies- Calflora
- Jepson Manual treatment
- Native Plant Database profile, Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center, University of Texas at Austin
- Baccharis pilularis in the CalPhotos photo database, University of California, Berkeley
