FIELD ID CHARACTERISTICS:
This is the only member of the aster family in eastern North America to reach "tree" stature. When in flower and in fruit, the shrub appears white due to the cotton-like flowers.
Description: Broad-leaved deciduous to semi-evergreen woody shrub or small tree with ascending branches 1 to 4 m tall.
Leaves: Alternate and toothed or entire with serrations mostly towards leaf apex. Leaves elliptic to obovate, 3 to 7 cm long and 1 to 4 cm wide, conspicuously pale blue-green. Leaves just below flowers not serrated.
Flowers/Fruit: White feathery flowers in small heads arranged in stalked clusters at branch tips. Separate male and female plants. Blooms and fruits September to November.
Habit and Range: Brackish marsh edges, ditch banks, old fields, damp thickets. Originally found just in the Coastal Plain, Baccharis halimifolia (eastern baccharis) has spread widely beyond its original range into the Piedmont, rare in the Mountains. It is considered non-native in the Piedmont and Mountains.
Taxonomic Note: Originally found in the North Carolina Coastal Plain, Baccharis halimifolia has spread and become invasive in the Piedmont and infrequent in the Mountains. It is considered non-native in the Piedmont and Mountains. Also called groundsel tree.
COMMON CONFUSIONS:
In coastal areas, Baccharis halimifolia (eastern baccharis) can be confused with Iva frutescens (marsh elder), which has narrower, longer, fleshier leaves and tiny yellow-greenish flowers in spikes.
Click here to view Iva frutescens.
Link to side-by-side comparisons page
