Groundsel Tree

Appearance

''Baccharis halimifolia'' is a fall-flowering shrub growing to about 12 ft high and comparably wide, or occasionally a small tree. Its simple, alternate, thick, egg-shaped to rhombic leaves mostly have coarse teeth, with the uppermost leaves entire.

These fall-flowering ''Baccharis'' plants are dioecious, with male and female flowers on separate individuals. Their flowers are borne in numerous small, compact heads in large leafy terminal inflorescences, with the snowy-white, cotton-like female flower-heads showy and conspicuous at a distance.

The species is sometimes confused with the marsh-elder, with which it often co-occurs, but the ''Baccharis'' has its leaves alternate, while those of the ''Iva'' are opposite.

Naming

Widely used common names include eastern baccharis, groundsel bush, sea myrtle, and saltbush, with consumption weed, cotton-seed tree, groundsel tree, menguilié, and silverling also used more locally. In most of its range, where no other species of the genus occur, this plant is often simply called baccharis.

Habitat

''Baccharis halimifolia'', usually found in wetlands, is unusually salt-tolerant, and often found along salty or brackish shores of marshes and estuaries, and the inland shores of coastal barrier islands. In Florida, it is also found along ditches, in old fields, and in other disturbed areas. Other habitats in the northeastern United States include freshwater tidal marshes and open woods and thickets along the seacoast.

The flowers produce abundant nectar that attracts various butterflies, including the monarch . These dense shrubs also provide wildlife food and cover.

Defense

The seeds of ''Baccharis halimifolia'' are toxic to humans.

Uses

''Baccharis halimifolia'' is occasionally cultivated, useful as a hedge or border as well as a specimen plant.
In southern Louisiana, it has been traditionally used as a medicine to treat inflamed kidneys and fever.