| |
Like other Baccharis species, willow baccharis
is dioecious with its male and female flowers on different plants. It
is an erect, loosely-branched shrub that can grow up to 10' or 12' tall,
with glabrous, sometimes sticky, ridged or striate branches. It
can generally be distinguished from its close relative, Baccharis
pilularis, by its more open branching and inflorescences (see the
last picture which shows the two species together), and a closer examination
will reveal that the bracts on emoryi are usually linear and
entire, while those on pilularis are usually obovate and sometimes
toothed. This is a difficult discrimination to be certain of given
the variability in leaf shape for both species. The upper leaves are
narrowly oblong with obtuse to almost acute tips, while the lower ones
are cuneate to oblanceolate, 3/4" to 2" long, with
0-8 teeth
or lobes usually in the distal half. There are many flowering
heads in paniculate clusters of 3-5, the involucres of pistillate heads
being 1/4" to 3/8" high and those of the staminate heads being
somewhat shorter and broader. The phyllaries are in 5 to 7 series,
ovate to lance-linear, glabrous and with an acute tip. Emory baccharis
typically occupies areas near streams, washes or salt marshes up to
2000' in coastal sage or creosote bush scrub from Baja to Ventura, Bakersfield
and Death Valley, blooming from August to December. These pictures
were taken along the marsh in Upper Newport Bay.
Click here for Latin name derivations: 1) Baccharis
2) salicina.
Pronunciation: BAK-ar-is sal-IS-in-a.
Click here for Botanical
Term Meanings.
Formerly Baccharis emoryi.
|
|
