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Groundsel-tree

Baccharis halimifolia

Found in salt and brackish marshes; freshwater marshes; roadsides, fields and disturbed ground. FloraQuest, phone app (app page) What its natural habitat tells you

80
Keystone

Native to Virginia. How scores work Is it native here?

Profile 100%

Height
5–12 feet
Spread
4–7 feet
Light
Full sun, Partial shade
Soil moisture
Somewhat dry to standing water

Space about 5.5 ft apart from its recorded spread, about 3 per 100 sq ft. Enter your bed size for a count

Will it fit your yard?

At a glance

Life cycle
Woody perennial
Leaves
Deciduous or semi-evergreen
Bloom
August to October
Fruiting season
Fall

Recorded in 52 Virginia counties.

Natural habitats

Places it grows wild. Not a planting requirement. Each habitat page lists the plants and wildlife also found there.

1 of 3

Salt and brackish marshes

Fort Fisher brackish marsh and woodland edge
Brackish marsh at a woodland edge. Shown: Fort Fisher, North Carolina, a neighboring state.Fort Fisher brackish marsh and woodland edge, ncwetlands.org, undated. CC0 1.0. Source record.

Freshwater marshes

Open, herb-covered wetlands with fresh, non-tidal water.

Roadsides, fields and disturbed ground

Ground opened by people: roadsides, old fields, pastures, fencerows and lots.

All habitats

Also found with this plant

Wildlife whose habitat models include habitats this plant grows in, in Virginia. Shared habitat, not food. 127 animals.

All wildlife of Virginia

Ecological relationships

Who uses this plant?

What these records mean

24CaterpillarsGenus host records with ranges including VA

Genus host records with ranges including VA · Baccharis

  • Anavitrinella pampinariaCommon Gray, Cranberry Spanworm
  • Condica vidensWhite-Dotted Groundling
  • Cremastobombycia solidaginisGoldenrod Leafminer
  • Ctenoplusia oxygrammaSharp-Stigma Looper Moth
  • Estigmene acreaSalt Marsh Moth, Acrea Moth
  • Eupithecia miserulataCommon Eupithacia, Common Pug
  • Eupithecia misturataInsignificant Pug
  • Eusarca fundariaDark-Edged Eusarca
  • Hellinsia balanotesBaccharis Borer Plume Moth, Groundsel Plume Moth
  • Hellinsia kellicottiiGoldenrod Borer Plume Moth
Show all 24
  • Homoeosoma electellaSunflower Moth
  • Iridopsis defectariaBrown-Shaded Gray, Willow Looper
  • Lioptilodes albistriolatusMousy Plume Moth
  • Platynota stultanaOmnivorous Leafroller
  • Pleuroprucha insulsariaCommon Tan Wave
  • Prionoxystus robiniaeCarpenterworm Moth, Black Locust Borer, Cottonwood Borer
  • Sonia paraplesianaHebrew Sonia
  • Sparganothis sulfureanaSparganothis Fruitworm Moth, Sulfur Leafroller, False Yellow-Head
  • Spodoptera frugiperdaFall Armyworm Moth
  • Spodoptera ornithogalliYellow-Striped Armyworm Moth, Cotton Cutworm
  • Tallula watsoniWatson's Tallula
  • Thyridopteryx ephemeraeformisEvergreen Bagworm Moth
  • Bucculatrix ivella
  • Hellinsia lacteodactylus
Shropshire & Tallamy 2025, Lepidoptera of North America north of Mexico, ZooKeys 1261 (ODbL)
21BeesSoutheastern regional records

Southeastern regional records · Baccharis

Individual names are not available yet.

Noori, Seltmann & Orr 2026, A curated and integrated dataset for exploring global bee-plant interactions (GloBI), Zenodo, CC BY 4.0
6Specialist beesPollen specialists

Pollen specialists · Baccharis

  • Andrena hirticincta
  • Colletes simulans
  • Colletes thysanellae
  • Dieunomia nevadensis
  • Perdita octomaculata
  • Protandrena albitarsis
Smith, Bachelder, Russell, Morales, Mosher & Seltmann 2024, Bee-Specialization-Modeling v0.6.1 (specialist host table compiled from J. Fowler's pollen specialist bee lists), Zenodo, CC BY 4.0
—BirdsRecorded genus food-resource interactions; not a state feeding claim

No records yet · Ants · Beetles · Flies · Adult butterflies / moths · Other wasps · Other insects

Growing and identification

Plant details

Family
Asteraceae
Hardiness
Zones 5a–9b
Soil pH
Acidic to neutral
Flower color
Cream, green or white
Growth rate
Moderate
Growth habit
Several stems
Foliage color
Dark green
Fruit begins
Fall
Fruit ends
Fall

Safety has not been reviewed for this plant; check toxicity and thorns before planting.

Growing sources and scope
  • Bloom · “August to October” · FloraQuest: Carolinas, Georgia (Southeastern Flora Team), phone app (app page) (ranked first; USDA PLANTS differs) · Carolinas and Georgia
  • Flower color · “Cream, green or white” · NC Extension Plant Toolbox (ranked first; USDA PLANTS, Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center differ)
  • Foliage color · “Dark green” · USDA PLANTS · Nationwide species characteristics; local growing conditions may vary
  • Fruit begins · “Fall” · USDA PLANTS · Nationwide species characteristics; local growing conditions may vary
  • Fruit ends · “Fall” · USDA PLANTS · Nationwide species characteristics; local growing conditions may vary
  • Growth habit · “Several stems” · USDA PLANTS · Nationwide species characteristics; local growing conditions may vary
  • Growth rate · “Moderate” · USDA PLANTS · Nationwide species characteristics; local growing conditions may vary
  • Hardiness · “Zones 5a–9b” · NC Extension Plant Toolbox
  • Height · “5–12 feet” · NC Extension Plant Toolbox (ranked first; USDA PLANTS differs)
  • Leaves · “Deciduous or semi-evergreen” · NC Extension Plant Toolbox (ranked first; Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center differs)
  • Life cycle · “Woody perennial” · NC Extension Plant Toolbox (ranked first; Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center differs)
  • Light · “Full sun (6 or more hours of direct sunlight a day); Partial shade (direct sunlight only part of the day, 2-6 hours)” · NC Extension Plant Toolbox (ranked first; Virginia DCR Coastal Plain, Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center differ)
  • Soil · “Frequent standing water; Moist; Occasionally dry; Occasionally wet” · NC Extension Plant Toolbox (ranked first; Virginia DCR Coastal Plain, Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center differ)
  • Soil pH · “Acidic to neutral” · NC Extension Plant Toolbox (ranked first; Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center differs)
  • Spread · “4–7 feet” · NC Extension Plant Toolbox
Also known as

Groundsel Tree; Hightide Bush; Silverling

Conservation status

Virginia rankS5
Global rankG5
VA statusNot verified
Federal statusNot verified

Conservation source Global and federal source

In your garden

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