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Baccharis halimifolia

Common name:	Bush Groundsel	Family:	Compositae
Author:	L.	Botanical references:	11, 43, 200
Synonyms:
Known Hazards:	The plant is potentially toxic to livestck[274].
Range:	Eastern N. America - Massachusetts to Florida and Texas.
Habitat:	Open woods, thickets and borders of marshes near the coast[43], often in saline soils[235].
Edibility Rating (1-5):	0	Medicinal Rating (1-5):	1

Other Possible Synonyms:	From various places across the web, may not be correct. See below.
	B. halimifolia var. angustior[B,P]
Other Common Names:	From various places around the Web, may not be correct. See below.
	Eastern Baccharis [P,DEN2], Groundsel-tree [FEIS], Groundseltree [B],
Systematics:	From a USDA Plants Database
	Order: Asterales. Renamed to Asteraceae -- Aster family
Other Range Info:	From the Ethnobotany Database
	Usa
Noxious, Invasive and Injurious Weeds	From USDA PLANTS database, Weeds Australia , DEFRA Injurious Weeds
	Listed as noxious/invasive for: New South Wales, Western Australia, Queensland, Northen Territory (Aust).

Physical Characteristics

A decidious shrub growing to 3.5m by 3.5m at a medium rate. It is hardy to zone 5. It is in flower in October. The flowers are dioecious (individual flowers are either male or female, but only one sex is to be found on any one plant so both male and female plants must be grown if seed is required) and are pollinated by Insects. The plant not is self-fertile. We rate it 0/5 for edibility and 1/5 for medicinal use.

The plant prefers light (sandy), medium (loamy) and heavy (clay) soils, requires well-drained soil and can grow in nutritionally poor soil. The plant prefers acid, neutral and basic (alkaline) soils and can grow in very alkaline and saline soils. It cannot grow in the shade. It requires dry or moist soil. The plant can tolerate maritime exposure.

Habitats and Possible Locations

Hedge, Woodland, Sunny Edge.

Edible Uses

None known

Medicinal Uses

Disclaimer

Demulcent.

The plant is used as a palliative and demulcent in consumption and cough[207].

Other Uses

Fuel; Hedge; Soil stabilization.

A good fast-growing hedge for exposed maritime conditions[11, K]. It retains its leaves into the new year but is rather bare in late winter[K].
Plants have an extensive root system and can be grown on sand or thin coastal soils in order to bind the soil[200].
Resinous secretions on the leaves and wood make this a useful fuel[11]. It is a fairly small plant though and would not be a very productive source.

Cultivation details

Succeeds in a sunny position in any well-drained soil[11, 188], from heavy clays to pure sands[113]. Tolerates saline conditions and dry soils[188, 200]. A useful shrub for coastal situations, resisting maritime exposure[11].
Plants are hardy to about -15°c[200].
A fast-growing plant, it is very tolerant of pruning and can be cut right back to the base if required[K].
The presence of this plant growing wild was supposed to indicate areas where oil might be found[207].
Dioecious. Male and female plants must be grown if seed is required.

Propagation

Seed - no pre-treatment is required[113]. Surface sow in pots a cold frame in the spring, do not let the compost dry out. Germination usually takes place within 1 - 2 weeks[113]. When they are large enough to handle, prick the seedlings out into individual pots and grow them on in the cold frame for at least their first winter. Plant them out into their permanent positions in late spring or early summer, after the last expected frosts.
Cuttings of half-ripe wood, July/August in a frame. Very easy[K].
Cuttings of mature wood of the current seasons growth, November in a frame. Easy[K].

Suppliers

For more details of plant suppliers please see our Suppliers Page which lists many more places to look.

PFAF Web Pages

This plant is mentioned in the following web pages

Web References

[E] Ethnobotany Data (common names, uses, countries) from the Ethnobotany Database.
[V] Images from the Vascular Plant Image Gallery of the Texas A&M Bioinformatics Working Group.
[B] Data (Latin & Common names, other references) from the BONAP's Synonymized Checklist of the Vascular Flora of the United States, Puerto Rico, and the Virgin Islands.
[G] Data (Common Names, Uses, Distribution) from the USDA/ARS NPGS's GRIN taxonomic database.
[P] Data. (uses, distribution, wetland) from the USDA'a Plants database.
[DEN] Data _ Photos (Good Identification info) from the Virginia Tech's Dendrology Deptarments' Tree Fact Sheets.
[HP] Links, Photos, Suppliers from Hortiplex Plant Database
[FEIS] Data (Uses, Ecology, Fire Effects) from the USDA Forestry Service Fire Effects Information System.

See the PFAF Links Pages for other sources.

Also try Photos and info from the The Plants Database which has 14,000 images.

References

[K] Ken Fern
Notes from observations, tasting etc at Plants For A Future and on field trips.

[11] Bean. W. Trees and Shrubs Hardy in Great Britain. Vol 1 - 4 and Supplement. Murray 1981
A classic with a wealth of information on the plants, but poor on pictures.

[43] Fernald. M. L. Gray's Manual of Botany. American Book Co. 1950
A bit dated but good and concise flora of the eastern part of N. America.

[113] Dirr. M. A. and Heuser. M. W. The Reference Manual of Woody Plant Propagation. Athens Ga. Varsity Press 1987 ISBN 0942375009
A very detailed book on propagating trees. Not for the casual reader.

[188] Brickell. C. The RHS Gardener's Encyclopedia of Plants and Flowers Dorling Kindersley Publishers Ltd. 1990 ISBN 0-86318-386-7
Excellent range of photographs, some cultivation details but very little information on plant uses.

[200] Huxley. A. The New RHS Dictionary of Gardening. 1992. MacMillan Press 1992 ISBN 0-333-47494-5
Excellent and very comprehensive, though it contains a number of silly mistakes. Readable yet also very detailed.

[207] Coffey. T. The History and Folklore of North American Wild Flowers. Facts on File. 1993 ISBN 0-8160-2624-6
A nice read, lots of information on plant uses.

[235] Britton. N. L. Brown. A. An Illustrated Flora of the Northern United States and Canada Dover Publications. New York. 1970 ISBN 0-486-22642-5
Reprint of a 1913 Flora, but still a very useful book.

Readers Comments

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Plant information taken from the Plants For A Future - Species Database. Copyright (c) 1997-2003.
WEB search engine by Rich Morris - Home Page- Contact Info
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We make no claims of magical effects or supernatural powers for any item in this catalog. In spite of legendary attributes or occult and craft tradition, such items are offered as curios only and beliefs concerning their magical effectiveness are related only for historical interest.