FNPS Plant Database
Baccharis halimifolia
Nomenclature
Common Name:
Synonym(s):
Genus species:
Family:
Asteraceae (Compositae)
Plant Specifics
Form:
Size:
Life Span:
Long-lived perennial
Flower Color:
Fruit Color:
Phenology:
Noted For:
Landscaping
Recommended Uses:
Specimen plant in casual settings. Also useful as a natural screen or buffer plant. Rain gardens or bioswales.
The primary horticultural feature is the silvery, plume-like achenes which appear in the fall on female plants. The fruits can provide a white haze for several weeks in the fall.
Considerations:
Availability:
Propagation:
Light:
Moisture Tolerance:
Always Flooded---------------------------------Extremely Dry
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Usually moist, occasional inundation -to- Not wet but not extremely dry
Salt Water Flooding Tolerance:
Unknown
Salt Spray/Salty Soil Tolerance:
Some tolerance to salty wind but not direct salt spray
Soil or Other Substrate:
Sand, Loam
Soil pH:
Suitable to Grow In:
8A,8B,9A,9B,10A,10B,11
USDA zones are based on the average annual extreme minimum winter temperature.
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Ecology
Wildlife:
Although primary wind pollinated, it attracts bees including Colletes mandibularis, C. simulans, C. thysanellae, Agapostemon splendens, Augochlorella aurata, Augochloropsis metallica, Dialictus miniatulus, D. nymphalis, Halictus ligatus, Sphecodes heraclei, Apis mellifera (honeybee) (Deyrup et al. 2002). Also said to attract butterflies.
Seeds are wind dispersed but also eaten by small birds and other wildlife.
Native Habitats:
Comments:
Ethnobotany:
General Comments:
Fruiting late in the fall, the fruits during the fall add substantial interest to a casual garden.
Baccharis glomerulifolia is similar in appearance and in potential cultural uses.
Citations:
Deyrup, Mark, Jayanthi Edirisinghe, and Beth Norden. (2002). The diversity and floral hosts of bees at the Archbold Biological Station, Florida (Hymenoptera: Apoidea). Insecta Mundi. 544. ( https://digitalcommons.unl.edu/insectamundi/544 ). Accessed 2025.
Gann, G.D., C.J. Abbott, C.G. Stocking, K.N. Hines, and collaborators. Natives For Your Neighborhood. ( https://www.regionalconservation.org/beta/nfyn/plantdetail.asp?tx=Bacchali ). Accessed 2025. The Institute for Regional Conservation. Delray Beach, Florida.
Haehle, Robert G. and Joan Brookwell. (1999). Native Florida Plants. Gulf Publishing Company. Houston, TX.
Nelson, Gil. (2003). Florida's Best Landscape Plants: 200 Readily Available Species for Homeowners and Professionals. University Press of Florida, Gainesville.
Osorio, Rufino. (2001). A Gardener's Guide to Florida's Native Plants. University Press of Florida, Gainesville.
University of Tennessee Extension Service. (2010). Desired pH Range and salt tolerance of common nursery plants. ( https://plantsciences.tennessee.edu/wp-content/uploads/sites/25/2021/10/Desired-pH-Range-List.pdf ). Accessed 2025. University of Tennessee Extension, Knoxville.
Wunderlin, R. P., B. F. Hansen, A. R. Franck, and F. B. Essig. (1999+). Atlas of Florida Plants. ( https://florida.plantatlas.usf.edu/ ). [S. M. Landry and K. N. Campbell (application development), USF Water Institute.] Institute for Systematic Botany, University of South Florida, Tampa.
