Texas Gardening: Texas Native Plant Pictures ( Shrubs ), 1 by htop

htop wrote:
Roosevelt Weed, New Deal Weed, Jara Dulce, Poverty Weed (Baccharis neglecta), Asteraceae Family, native, deciduous, blooms late summer through November, invasive

Poverty weed is a tall shrub with many willow-like branches which can be found growing in the South Texas Plains and the Edwards Plateau regions in Texas.on prairies, plains, meadows, pastures, savannahs and disturbed areas. It grows in various soil types including sandy, sandy loam, medium loam, granitic and calcareous; howeverr, it prefers calcareous soils The elliptic, narrow leaves are approximately 1- 2 1/2 inches long. They can have a smooth or jagged margins. In the late summer, it starts to bloom and looks beautiful blowing in the winfd with the sunlight illuminating the flowers and later the seeds. Male and female flowers are on different plants. The white cotton-like pappus of theseeds is very conspicuous in the fall and is distributed by wind

Its common names purportedly are derived from the fact that after the great Dust Bowl, it was planted as a cheap, fast and easy way to revjuvinate the severly damaged soil. However, the qualities that mafe it desirable then, have made it a real problem now. Both B. neglecta and B. halimifolia (listed above) have become a pian in the neck in rangelands and disturbed areas. It spread fast and overtakes forage plants with its deep roots using up a large amount of water. It is very difficult to eradicate because livestock do not feed upon it as well as it prolifically produces seeds. However, it is a good nectar plant for many pollinators including some butterflies.

County distribution:
http://plants.usda.gov/java/county?state_name=Texas&statefip...

For more information, see its entry in the PlantFiles:
http://davesgarden.com/pf/go/1747/index.html

Female flowers ...