Baccharis salicina

Baccharis salicina
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Plantae
(unranked): Angiosperms
(unranked): Eudicots
(unranked): Asterids
Order: Asterales
Family: Asteraceae
Tribe: Astereae
Genus: Baccharis
Species: B. salicina
Binomial name
Baccharis salicina
Torr. & Gray
Synonyms[1]

Baccharis salicina is a species of North American plants in the sunflower family. Common names include willow baccharis,[2] and Great Plains false willow.[3]

Distribution

The plant is native to the United States (southern Great Plains region and Southwestern United States; states of California, Nevada, Arizona, Colorado, Kansas, New Mexico, Oklahoma, Texas, and Utah [4][5] and northern Mexico (Baja California, Chihuahua, Coahuila, Nuevo León, Durango, Sonora).[3][6]

The plant grows on open sandy flood plains, most commonly in mildly saline areas.[7]

Description

Baccharis salicina is a shrub producing erect, branching stems approaching 4 metres (13 ft) in maximum height. The thick leaves are oblong to oval in shape and sometimes have roughly toothed edges. They may be up to 7 centimetres (2.8 in) long. The shrub is dioecious, with male and female plants producing flower heads of different types. The head is enclosed in a layer of phyllaries and the female flowers yield fruits, each an achene with a white pappus about a centimeter long.[3]

The earliest name for the species is Baccharis salicifolia Nutt., coined in 1840.[8] This name, however, had previously been used for some South American material,[9] so the North American plants needed to be renamed as Baccharis salicina.[10]

References

External links


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