Baccharis sarathroides A. Gray Asteraceae (Sunflower Family) Native Broom Baccharis

                                             November Photo

Plant Characteristics:  Erect, glabrous, glutinous green shrub 2-4 m. high, nearly leafless, with broomlike, angular-sulcate branches; lvs. all sublinear, entire, rigid, up to 2 cm. long; heads mostly solitary at the tips of the numerous branchlets; dioecious, pistillate heads 19-31, with invol. 6-8 mm. high, ca. 6-seriate, cream-color, the outer phyllaries broadly ovate, the inner linear-oblong, obtuse, indurate; staminate heads 18-35, with invol. 3-4 mm. high, the broad blunt phyllaries with a small green apical spot; aks. 1.7-2.2 mm. long, glabrous, 10 ribbed, the pappus 6-11 mm. long.

Habitat:  Sandy washes below 1200 ft.; Coastal Sage Scrub, Creosote Bush Scrub; San Diego and Riverside regions, Colo. Desert; to L. Calif., Ariz., New Mex., Sinaloa.  June-Oct.

Name:  After the god Bacchus.  (Munz, Flora So. Calif. 124). Oides means like or resembling.  Sarathroides, means like Sarathrum.  (John Johnson).

General:  Moderately common along the horse and bike path in the Santa Ana Heights area, where it was introduced in the hydromulch mix sprayed on the banks, when they were completed.  The Populus sp. in the background of the photo was planted when the storm drain under the new bike path was built in 1987.  (my comments).      Complex and diverse American genus of some 300 spp., the best developed in e. S. Am.  (Munz, Flora So. Calif. 124).

Text Ref:  Abrams Vol. IV 385; Hickman, Ed. 210; Munz, Flora So. Calif. 125; Roberts 9.

Photo Ref:  Nov-Dec 89 # 7,8,9,10,11,12.

Identity: by R. De Ruff.  

First Found:  November 1989.

Computer Ref:  Plant Data 387.

Have plant specimen.

Last edit 7/14/05.  

                                 November Photo                                                                  November Photo