Summary ¹⁰

Baccharis sarothroides is a North American species of flowering shrub known by the common names broom baccharis, desertbroom, greasewood, rosin-bush and groundsel in English and "escoba amarga" or "romerillo" in Spanish. This is a spreading, woody shrub usually sticky with glandular secretions along the primarily leafless green stems. The small, thick leaves are a few centimeters long and are absent much of the year, giving the shrub a spindly, twi

Uses ¹¹

The Seri refer to desert broom as cascol caaco, and make a decoction by cooking the twigs. This tea is used to treat colds, sinus headache, and general sore achey ailments. The same tea is also used as a rub for sore muscles.

Studies done on plant extracts show that desert broom is rich in leutolin, a flavonoid that has demonstrated anti-inflammatory, antioxidant, and cholesterol lowering capabilities. Desert broom also has quercetin, a proven antioxidant, and apigenin a chemical which binds to the same brain receptor sites that Valium does. However many members of the Sunflower family also contain compounds that cause negative side effects, thus caution is advised until this plant is more extensively tested.

Planting and care ¹¹

Most people try to get rid of this plant, but it will grow in heavy clay or saline soils. The tall, bushy shrub has green stems and twigs and highly reduced leaves. It will accept shearing and can be trained into a decent, short-lived privacy hedge, useful while the longer-lived, taller, but slower growing Arizona rosewood gets established. Plants may be purchased at nurseries and planted in place. Avoid overwatering in heavy soils as desert broom will drown.

Sources and Credits

1. (c) Michelle Dyer, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC-SA), http://www.flickr.com/photos/31209204@N06/4084436216
2. (c) CK Kelly, some rights reserved (CC BY), uploaded by CK Kelly
3. (c) David Vander Pluym, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC), uploaded by David Vander Pluym
4. (c) Matt Haberkorn, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC), uploaded by Matt Haberkorn
5. (c) Matthew Salkiewicz, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC), uploaded by Matthew Salkiewicz
6. (c) Ken-ichi Ueda, some rights reserved (CC BY), uploaded by Ken-ichi Ueda
7. (c) Tony Iwane, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC), uploaded by Tony Iwane
8. (c) Franco Folini, some rights reserved (CC BY), uploaded by Franco Folini
9. (c) Damon Tighe, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC), uploaded by Damon Tighe
10. Adapted by Jeny Davis from a work by (c) Wikipedia, some rights reserved (CC BY-SA), https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Baccharis_sarothroides
11. (c) Wikipedia, some rights reserved (CC BY-SA), https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Baccharis_sarothroides

More Info

• iNat taxon page
• Biodiversity Heritage Library
• BOLD Systems BIN search
• Calflora
• CalPhotos
• eFloras.org
• Flora of North America (beta)
• Global Biodiversity Information Facility (GBIF)
• HOSTS - a Database of the World's Lepidopteran Hostplants
• IPNI (with links to POWO, WFO, and BHL)
• Jepson eFlora
• NatureServe Explorer 2.0
• SEINet Symbiota portals
• Tropicos
• USDA PLANTS database
• World Flora Online

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