Common Name:

broombush falsewillow

Synonym(s):

Genus species:

Baccharis dioica

Family:

Asteraceae (Compositae)

Form:

shrub

Size:

3-6 (10) ft

Life Span:

long-lived perennial

Flower Color:

white, yellow

Fruit Color:

white

Phenology:

fall bloomer

Noted For:

Recommended Uses:

Where a moderate-sized shrub is wanted.

Considerations:

Availability:

Propagation:

Cuttings

Light:

Moisture Tolerance:

Always Flooded------------------------------------------------Extremely Dry

Not wet but not extremely dry ---to--- Very long very dry periods

Salt Water Flooding Tolerance:

Not salt tolerant of inundation by salty or brackish water.

Salt Spray/Salty Soil Tolerance:

High. Can tolerate significant and ongoing amounts of salty wind and salt spray without injury.

Soil or Other Substrate:

Humus (organic, upland), Lime Rock

Soil pH:

Calcareous (high pH)

Suitable to Grow In:

8A, 8B, 9A, 9B, 10A, 10B, 11

Wildlife:

Native Habitats:

Coastal areas. Dunes and limerock and said to like hollows near mangroves.

Natural Range in Florida:

Visit the USF Libraries Atlas of Florida Plants

Ethnobotany:

General Comments:

This plant is believed to be extirpated in the wild in Florida.  According to most sources, it was known from a single area south of Miami near Biscayne Bay.  Old specimens at the University of Florida Herbarium for Escambia and Okaloosa counties were re-examined in 2006 and re-identified as Baccharis dioica.  It has also been reported to have been found on a dune near Mobile, Alabama (Woodlanders, Inc.) and introduced into the nursery trade from there. The map of herbarium specimen locations on the Atlas of Florida Plants have not been updated. 

Plants commercially available in Florida apparently come from imports from the Bahamas.