Baccharis havardii
Baccharis pilularis
Havard's false willow
chaparral broom, coyote brush, dwarf chaparral false willow
erect (green to tan), slender, striate-angled, glabrous, resinous.
spreading to ascending, dark brown, shiny, striate-angular, glabrous, often ± scurfy, usually resinous and sticky.
present at flowering; short-petiolate;
blades (1-nerved) narrowly spatulate to linear, 20–40 × 2–3 mm, reduced to bracts distally, bases attenuate, margins entire or toothed (teeth to 2 mm), faces glabrous, gland-dotted, resinous.
present at flowering;
sessile or short-petiolate;
blades (1- or 3-nerved) oblanceolate to obovate, the smaller 5–40 × 2–15 mm (thick), bases cuneate, margins entire or coarsely dentate (teeth 3–9 distal to middles), faces glabrous, gland-dotted, resinous.
cylindro-campanulate;
staminate 3 mm, pistillate 4–4.5 mm.
hemispheric to campanulate;
staminate 3.2–5 mm, pistillate 3–6 mm.
15–20;
corollas 3 mm.
19–43;
corollas 2.5–3.5 mm.
12–15;
corollas 3–4 mm.
20–34, 3–4 mm.
lanceolate, 1–4 mm, margins scarious, medians green or brownish, apices obtuse to acuminate (thickened, slightly erose and ciliate).
ovate to lanceolate, 1–3 mm, margins yellowish, scarious, medians yellow proximally, green distally, apices obtuse to acute or acuminate (erose, abaxial faces papillose-scurfy).
in broad paniculiform arrays.
(100–200+) in (leafy) paniculiform arrays.
2–2.5 mm, 5-nerved, glabrous;
pappi 4 mm.
1–2 mm, 8–10-nerved, glabrous;
pappi 6–9 mm.
Baccharis havardii
Baccharis pilularis
Found mainly in the Chisos and Davis Mountains of West Texas, Baccharis havardii is distinguished by its short bushy habit, narrow leaves with elongate teeth, and 5-nerved cypselae. G. L. Nesom (pers. comm.) suggested that it is weakly defined and further investigation may demonstrate it should be included in the Mexican species B. sulcata de Candolle (which name would have priority over B. havardii).
(Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.)
Subspecies 2 (2 in the flora).
Baccharis pilularis can be distinguished by its dark brown stems, and serrate, obovate to oblanceolate leaves. In addition, plants from some dunes of the California coast are prostrate, a growth form unique to this genus in our region.
The common, weedy, widespread form is subsp. consanguinea, which is typically erect, with its larger leaves 15–40 mm. Subspecies pilularis is known only from exposed sandy dunes and bluffs along the central coast of California. Its growth habit is matlike, and its larger leaves are 5–15 mm. The prostrate habit of subsp. pilularis is strikingly different from the upright habit of subsp. consanguinea.
C. B. Wolf (1935) demonstrated that in at least some populations, the distinction between prostrate and erect forms has a genetic basis. Transplants from the wild of the prostrate and erect forms retained their respective growth habits when grown together in a sheltered location and the morphology of seedlings reflected the habit of the parents. Wolf’s arguments for recognizing the forms as subspecies are further supported by the existence of prostrate cultivars in the horticultural trade. On the other hand, both erect and prostrate forms grow in proximity throughout the range of subsp. pilularis. In many areas the forms intergrade completely; in others they can be easily distinguished. Two subspecies are recognized here, notwithstanding difficulties in identifying habit from pressed specimens, or by observations of populations where both growth forms coexist. Further study is needed, perhaps utilizing molecular characters and detailed observations of native populations.
(Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.)
1. Stems erect, rarely prostrate, brittle, forming erect or rounded shrubs; leaves mostly 15–40 mm; noncoastal and coastal California, Oregon | subsp. consanguinea |
1. Stems prostrate, flexible, forming mats; leaves mostly 5–15 mm; sandy, exposed habitats of coastal California | subsp. pilularis |
- Local floras:
CA, 
OR, 
WA - Local Web sites: CalFlora, CalPhotos,
Flora NW, 
PNW Herbaria 
WildflowerSearch
iNaturalist (observations)
USDA Plants Database- LBJ Wildflower Center
- SEINet
- Plants of the World Online
- Encyclopedia of Life
- Wikipedia
- Google Image Search
