Desert broom (Baccharis sarothroides) is both cursed and blessed by homeowners. Let me clear up some of the misconceptions and share why you might want to welcome this plant to your landscape.

Overview of Desert Broom

Desert broom is in the Compositae (Asteraceae) which is the same family as sunflowers. At this writing it is one of the largest genera of Compositae which means any day now, some gene jockey in a lab somewhere is going to decide to split it and change all the names. Just a heads up.

Some of the English common names include broom baccharis, desertbroom, greasewood, rosin-bush, and groundsel. In Spanish it is called escoba amarga or romerillo.

Desert broom is a medium-size, low-water native shrub, and can be a fast or vigorous grower.   Plants have sticky with glandular secretions along the primarily leafless green stems. The small, thick leaves are a barely a quarter of an inch long. In drought these tiny leaves fall, and leave the plant with a spindly, twiggy appearance.  Flowers are white to creamy colored.

It is considered a seral species. In Ecology, seral species are often the first plants to grow on a cleared stretch of land. Could be cleared because a tree fell and opened a light well, or a bulldozer came along and bladed an area. Seral species move in when circumstances change, and then they move on.  They are generally short-lived and do not persist for very long, unless they are continuously disturbed.

Flowers & Seeds

Desert broom flowers abundantly with tiny white to cream colored blooms on separate male and female plants.  Flowers start in August and go into November – just in time for fall butterflies to sip the abundant nectar. If plants get extra water, they can bloom into February.

The female plants release their tiny fluffy seeds generally in spring – at the same time a number of other plants release their pollen, thus the seeds of desert broom often get erroneously called an allergen. Please don’t blame seeds for the pollen of the grasses and ragweed often blooming at the same time that the seeds scatter.

Science Nerd Shares

Yes, the pollen of the male plants can be allergenic. It is closely related to another member of the Compositae family – ragweed. Indeed, many of the Sunflower family have allergenic pollen.  But know this – if it has bright colored flowers, it is trying to attract pollinators.  If flowers are green, it is not trying to attract pollinators – it is wind pollinated.

Planting and Care of Desert Broom

Very rarely, desert broom may be purchased at nurseries. It is very easy to grow from seed though.   In the wild, plants are generally found in rocky or sandy sites, thus avoid over-watering in heavy soils.    That said, they do tolerate in heavy clay or saline soils – places where few other landscape plants thrive, just do not over water.

Five Reasons to Celebrate Desert Broom

Reason #1. Butterflies!

Butterflies flock to the bushes to sip nectar all fall. I nurture desert broom as part of my butterfly garden.

Reason # 2. Vivid Green

The color of the plant is a vivid, somewhat chartreuse green. “Real green,” I was told by one client. This makes desert broom an excellent option for the bright green foliage newcomers from “back East” crave in their landscapes.   

Reason # 3. Sticky Stems

Those “glandular secretions” are distasteful to wildlife. You can have a nice bush that the bunnies and javelina will not eat.  More wildlife resistant plants.

Reason # 4. Seral

I mentioned “seral” above so I could tell you that seral can be a very good thing. You can use this seral and short-lived shrub to help shade delicate new plants as they become established. A sticky and “stinky” desert broom will make it harder for javelina to sniff out and eat up that expensive baby saguaro or ironwood tree you are trying to grow. Since it is short-lived it will soon be out of the way.

Reason # 5. Accepts Shearing

Desert broom will take full sun to reflected light, and does fine in part shade.    Plants will accept shearing and can be trained into a decent, short-lived privacy hedge. Such a short-lived hedge is helpful while the longer-lived, taller, non-allergenic, but slower growing Arizona rosewood (Vauquelinia californica) or jojoba (Simondsia chinensis) reach hedge size.

 

Other Uses

Along with landscaping, desert broom is useful in a number of ways.    I like it as a cut green in a flower vase. It lasts an incredibly long time, and even stays mostly green when dried.

Hot or iced tea made from desert broom is tasty.  Indeed, desert broom has a long history of use by the peoples of this area. More about using plants is on another site I write for: Savor the Southwest.

Enjoy!

All in all, desert broom is a handsome, useful, bright green, low-water native plant that attracts native pollinators, including butterflies, to the landscape.    Consider enjoying some in your garden!

Cover image courtesy Z. Akulova.

Desert Broom is one of the “Kino Herbs”

The last few copies of this out-of-print award winning Southwestern book are now for sale. Father Kino’s Herbs: Growing and Using Them Today   The review says:

“Award-winning garden writer Dr. Jacqueline A. Soule has pulled together a fascinating book on the life of Father Eusebio Francisco Kino and some of the plants that he brought to Southern Arizona and northwestern Sonora, and area called the Pimeria Alta.”

This link is to our book sales site. The profits from the sale go to the local Horticulture Therapy non-profit Tierra del Sol Institute.  We hope you will help support this great Southwest non-profit!

Legal Notes

© Article copyright Jacqueline A. Soule // Gardening With Soule. All rights reserved. You must ask permission to republish an entire blog post or article. Okay to use a short excerpt but you must give proper credit. You must include a link back to the original post on our site. No stealing photos.

Disclaimer

The authors of this website have researched the edibility of the materials we discuss, however, humans vary in their ability to tolerate different foods, drinks, and herbs. Individuals consuming flowers, plants, animals or derivatives mentioned in this blog do so entirely at their own risk. The authors on this site cannot be held responsible for any adverse reaction. In case of doubt please consult your medical practitioner.