Baccharis sergiloides

Desert baccharis

Family: Asteraceae · Type: shrub · Native

Desert baccharis is a California native shrub found in the Tehachapi Mountains, Peninsular Ranges, and Desert regions in gravelly streambeds, dry washes, and grasslands at elevations of 70 to 1,800 meters. Flowering from July to October, this plant produces white flowers in small heads arranged in crowded panicle-like clusters. Growing to less than 3 meters tall with many strictly erect, green branches that form a broom-like shape, it creates a distinctive architectural presence in arid landscapes. Its leaves are widely oblanceolate to obovate, sessile and less than 35 millimeters long, with bases long-tapered and occasionally bearing 1 to 4 irregular teeth. The shrub is notably glabrous and often appears sticky, with reduced upper leaves that become bract-like toward the branch tips.

Habitat: Gravelly or sandy streambeds, dry washes, grassland

Bloom period: Jul-Oct

Elevation: -70-1800 m

Bioregions: Teh, PR, D

Data from The California Species Project — 14,000+ California species with verified data from CNPS, CDFW, USFWS, Jepson eFlora, Cal-IPC, and more.