Baccharis pilularis consanguinea

Identification

Description

Deer proof throughout Ca. (so-far). You might want to cover it for the first year. Drought tolerant, very usefull for hedges or fence lines, much underused. Water 1/week until est. then 1/month or so during the first summer. Very fast! It can mature in one-two year. Another mini-wildlife plant! Secondary pioneer plant in communities such as coastal sage scrub and chaparral. When the native vegetation is removed from an area by bulldozer, or tilling, or grazing and trampling animals, one of the first natives that returns to the site, is Mr. Or Mrs. Coyote Brush, Baccharis pilularis consanguinea. By the way, the Jepson Manual, the new definitive flora for the state of California, calls this plant just Baccharis pilularis, the same name as the ground cover form. They are now considered the same species, because the short and tall plants intergrade completely. The problem for we horticulturists/biologists is that only male plants are utilized in the landscaping trade for Baccharis pilularis. If these are substituted for B. pilularis var. consanguinea in ecological restoration, there will not be as much seed set and recruitment of new individuals. Luckily, almost everyone is ignoring Jepson in this context.A 3-6' perennial with green-brown stems and green leaves. Baccharis species are the nectary sources for most of the predatory wasps, native skippers(small butterflies) and native flies. You will see the weirdest bugs on these plants. From green beetles to 1 inch long flies with short wings and no middle to their body, these plants sing'. I highly recommend these plants next to a back sitting area(they do not look good enough in the foreground) to attract wildlife'. Moreover, Bambi doesn't eat them!! They're great startups for bad sites.

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