Baccharis salicifolia.

I don't think someone from the UK is in a position to ID our native plants.

Ah, so this is probably also Poverty Weed (Baccharis neglecta)...just with the flowers in bloom rather than the "paintbrush" seeds that appear after..?
http://forums2.gardenweb.com/forums/load/namegal/msg1023095216418.html

Or is it a Groundsel Tree (Baccharis halimifolia)?
http://www.biosurvey.ou.edu/okwild/gstree.html
Ugh, they all look basically the same??? :o

Here is a link that might be useful: Baccharis neglecta

This post was edited by blakrab on Sun, Dec 22, 13 at 21:08

Yes, seedheads versus flowers.

Doesn't Baccharis has different looking male and female flowers? These look like the male flowers.

True but by now the seedheads should be fully formed.

Sorry, I didn't realise this was exclusively a site for US residents!

Yeah, the British don't know anything about plants and have never imported and grown plants from outside of Britain.

Merely stating we know our species better just as the Brits know theirs.
5 minutes of research would have borne out that Baccharis salicifolia isn't found in central Texas.

This post was edited by saltcedar on Mon, Dec 23, 13 at 1:46

So, doing a Google search for Baccharis salicifolia in Texas, one should ignore the results?

I guess the point of my post is, there is absolutely no need to be rude to a member that at least responded to a query made two months ago.

Happy Holidays!

Here is a link that might be useful: Baccharis salicifolia in Texas

That response was meant for another post on the same subject and came off as rude and terse. I didn't mean to offend anyone, I was just saying what the OP suggested was unlikely.

This post was edited by saltcedar on Mon, Dec 23, 13 at 7:37

Well, thanks for all the valuable input everyone, local and non! Obviously local expertise is very valuable for natives...but that certainly doesn't preclude remote analysis either! I always appreciate anyone who simply even bothers to reply! :)
http://forums2.gardenweb.com/forums/load/namegal/msg1212553829322.html

And this particular ID does seem rather complex. There appears to be some very similar species here and possibly even different male/female flowers in the same ones? So, what are the distinguishing differences and what exactly is the plant in question, then?

Baccharis salicifolia "Mule's Fat"
Baccharis neglecta "Poverty Weed"
Baccharis halimifolia "Groundsel Tree"

Baccharis is a genus of perennials and shrubs in the aster family (Asteraceae). They are commonly known as baccharises but sometimes referred to as "brooms", because many members have small thin leaves resembling the true brooms. Baccharis, with over 500 species, is the largest genus in the Compositae. It is found throughout the Americas

Here is a link that might be useful: Baccharis

This post was edited by blakrab on Mon, Dec 23, 13 at 12:08

This one made me curious, so I checked BONAP. Their maps confirm11 Baccharis species in Texas. Five of those (bigelovii, brachyphylla, havardii, pteronioides, and sarothroides) are known only in the extreme southwest corner of the state. B. halimifolia is common in east Texas, but has rhombic leaves. The five species more common in the central portion are neglecta, salicifolia, salicina, texana, and wrightii.

I used the FNA (Flora of North America) key for Baccaris species to check properties. B. texana and B. wrightii are subshrubs that typically range from 10 to 80 cm tall. Since the OP said the plants are much taller than that, the last three species are more likely.

B. neglecta has very narrow leaves that are linear to narrowly elliptic, and usually 30 to 80 mm long by just 1 to 2 mm wide. The leaves in the photo seem to be much wider than that.

B. salicina has leaves that are oblong to narrowly oblanceolate, entire margins, or with 2-3 pairs of coarsely and irregularly serrate teeth toward the ends. Typical leaves are 25 to 70 mm long by 5 to 10 mm wide.

B. salicifolia has leaves that are lanceolate to oblong, usually with finely serrate margins and resinous faces. Typical leaves are 30 to 150 mm long by 3 to 20 mm wide.

It isn't possible to determine species without a sample in hand. However, it does seem that B. salicifolia is a strong candidate. If you want to investigate further, the BONAP maps for Baccharis are here http://www.bonap.org/BONAPmaps2010/Baccharis.html and the FNA key is at the site below.

Here is a link that might be useful: FNA US Baccharis key

Oh get Bach

Get Bach

Get Baccharis to where it once belonged

Somebody has spiked the eggnog.

..."oblanceolate???"

Wow, damn jekeesl, you really did your homework here. I'm going to go with your expert analysis and...Baccharis salicifolia "Mule's Fat" it is, then!

Many, many Thanks & Happy Holidays everyone!!

Here is a link that might be useful: Baccharis US map

Baccharis salicina would be my guess.

Saltcedar is probably right. B. salicina is more plentiful across the state. It should be easy to determine species if you have a sample in hand.

I don't drink, you'll have to blame it on something else.

Yeah, well I've been humming that all evening.

Good!

Hmm, so I guess it was down to Baccharis neglecta, salicifolia, salicina, or halimifolia. But, the leaves of Baccharis salicina look too wide.

Baccharis pilularis (top), salicina (middle), salicifolia (bottom)

So, this led most likely to Baccharis salicifolia.

Just refreshing this debate because I found another similar specimen today with very narrow leaves (almost like Rosemary):

This should be reworked as a separate post. Add-ons like this will just confuse people who do Internet searches for a specific plant.