Virginia Tech Dendrology

yerba de pasmo Asteraceae Baccharis pteronioides DC. symbol: BAPT
Leaf: Alternate, drought deciduous, variable in shape, obovate to narrowly oblong, some nearly diamond-shaped, to 3/4 inch, upper half of leaf with a few coarse teeth, dark green above and below, may be sticky.
Flower: Species is dioecious; creamy white, in racemes, displayed in 1/4 inch flowerheads, blooming throughout the summer.
Fruit: A small achene tipped with long feathery white bristles, ripen in early fall and often in great abundance giving the plant a silvery/creamy look.
Twig: Slender, gray-brown.
Bark: Gray-brown, becoming ridged and furrowed.
Form: A small, sprawling and scraggly shrub to 3 feet.
Looks like: desertbroom - Emory's baccharis - coyotebrush

Additional Range Information: Baccharis pteronioides is native to North America. Range may be expanded by planting. Download the full-size PDF map.
External Links: USDA Plants Database
All material 2021 Virginia Tech Dept. of Forest Resources and Environmental Conservation; Photos and text by: John Seiler, Edward Jensen, Alex Niemiera, and John Peterson; Silvics reprinted from Ag Handbook 654; range map source information