Locally called “desert-broom,” or “Mexican broom,” this species of
baccharis is an erect, coarse, evergreen shrub 3 to 6 feet high,
frequently encountered on hillsides and bottomlands at elevations
between 1,000 and 5,500 feet from southwestern New Mexico to southern
and Baja California and northern Mexico. Greening up following summer
rains, the shrubs blossom from September to February. Flowers are
inconspicuous, but the fruits develop as masses of spectacular cottony
threads, giving the shrubs a snow-covered appearance. Among some Indian
tribes the twigs are chewed to relieve toothache. In Mexico the shrub is
called _hierba del pasmo_.
_Baccharis sarothroides_ Sunflower Family
[Illustration: BROOM BACCHARIS]