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Baccharis viminea

Common name:	Mule's Fat	Family:	Compositae
Author:	DC.	Botanical references:	71, 200
Synonyms:	Baccharis salicifolia ((Ruiz.& Pav.)Pers.)
Known Hazards:	None known
Range:	South-western N. America - California to Mexico.
Habitat:	Dry stream beds, ditch banks etc, usually below 450 metres[71].
Edibility Rating (1-5):	2	Medicinal Rating (1-5):	1

Other Possible Synonyms:	From various places across the web, may not be correct. See below.
	B. glutinosa[B,P] B. halimifolia[B,E,G,HORTIPLEX,P] B. halimifolia var. angustior[B,P] Molina salicifolia[B,P]
Other Common Names:	From various places around the Web, may not be correct. See below.
	Eastern Baccharis [DEN2,P], Groundsel-tree [FEIS], Groundseltree [B], Mule's Fat [P], Mule's-fat [B],
Systematics:	From a USDA Plants Database
	Order: Asterales. Renamed to Asteraceae -- Aster family
Other Range Info:	From the Ethnobotany Database
	Usa

Physical Characteristics

An evergreen shrub growing to 4m. It is hardy to zone 8. It is in flower from May to July. The flowers are hermaphrodite (have both male and female organs) and are pollinated by Insects. We rate it 2/5 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. It cannot grow in the shade. It requires dry or moist soil.

Habitats and Possible Locations

Ground Cover.

Edible Uses

Leaves.

Young shoots - cooked[257]. Roasted and eaten as a famine food when little else is available[257].

Medicinal Uses

Disclaimer

Ophthalmic Skin Stings.

A decoction of the leaves and stems has been used as a female hygienic agent[257].
An infusion of the leaves has been used as an eyewash and has also been applied to bruises, wounds or insect stings[257].

Other Uses

Ground cover Hair Soil stabilization.

An effective ground-cover plant for sunny banks[200].
The plant has an extensive root system and is very useful for stabilizing sand dunes etc[200].
The leaves have been used as a tonic wash for the scalp and hair to prevent baldness[257].
A charcoal made from the stems has been used to make gunpowder[257].

Cultivation details

Succeeds in almost any soil, from heavy clays to pure sands, if it is growing in a sunny position[11, 200]. Very tolerant of poor dry soils[200].
This species is not hardy in the colder areas of the country, it requires an almost frost-free climate and tolerates temperatures down to between -5 and -10° c[200].
Plants respond well to trimming[200].
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

[P] Data. (uses, distribution, wetland) from the USDA'a Plants database.
[HP] Links, Photos, Suppliers from Hortiplex Plant Database

References for Baccharis halimifolia (a possible synonym).

[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.

References for Baccharis salicifolia (a possible synonym).

[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.
[C] Taxon data. from the CalFlora database.
Images from the CalPhoto database.
[P] Data. (uses, distribution, wetland) from the USDA'a Plants database.

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.

[71] Munz. A California Flora. University of California Press 1959
An excellent flora but no pictures. Not for the casual reader.

[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.

[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.

[257] Moerman. D. Native American Ethnobotany Timber Press. Oregon. 1998 ISBN 0-88192-453-9
Very comprehensive but terse guide to the native uses of plants. Excellent bibliography, fully referenced to each plant, giving a pathway to further information. Not for the casual reader.

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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