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Mulefat
Baccharis salicifolia
  
42 Nurseries Carry This Plant

About Mulefat (Baccharis salicifolia) 42 Nurseries Carry This Plant Baccharis salicifolia is a flowering shrub native to the desert southwest of the United States and northern Mexico, as well as parts of South America. Its usual common name is mule fat; it is also called seepwillow or water-wally. This is a large bush with sticky foliage which bears plentiful small, fuzzy, pink or red-tinged white flowers. The long pointed leaves may be toothed. It is most common near water sources.

Mulefat is an extremely tough and easy to grow plant, flowers year round, and is a great choice for butterfly gardens. The downside is that it requires a fair amount of water to look good year round. Place in a naturally moist area, or be prepared to regularly irrigate during the dry season. It is quite drought tolerant once established, but will look weedy and unattractive if it doesn't get much water. If it does get weedy, cut down to 3-4 inches above the base and it will resprout with all fresh green folliage.
Plant Description
Plant Type
Plant Type
Shrub

Size
Size
6 - 12 ft tall
3 - 9 ft wide

Form
Form
Upright, Rounded, Upright Columnar

Growth Rate
Growth Rate
Fast

Dormancy
Dormancy
Evergreen, Summer Semi-Deciduous

Fragrance
Fragrance
Slight

Flower Color
Flower Color
Pink, White, Yellow

Flowering Season
Flowering Season
Spring, Winter, Summer, Fall

Wildlife Supported
 
This is an important butterfly and bee plant. Also attracts other beneficial insects

 
Butterflies & moths hosted ( 2 confirmed , 28 likely * ) SHOW ALL
Calephelis nemesis Image
Fatal Metalmark Calephelis nemesisCalephelis nemesis
Lioptilodes albistriolatus Image
Mousy Plume Moth Lioptilodes albistriolatusLioptilodes albistriolatus
*
Chlosyne gabbii Image
Gabb's Checkerspot Chlosyne gabbiiChlosyne gabbii
*
Hyles lineata Image
White-lined Sphinx Hyles lineataHyles lineata
*
Gnorimoschema baccharisella Image
Coyote Brush Gall Moth Gnorimoschema baccharisellaGnorimoschema baccharisella
*
Estigmene acrea Image
Salt Marsh Moth or Acrea Moth Estigmene acreaEstigmene acrea
*
Anavitrinella pampinaria Image
Common Gray Anavitrinella pampinariaAnavitrinella pampinaria

Landscaping Information
Sun
Sun
Full Sun

Moisture
Moisture
Low

Summer Irrigation
Summer Irrigation
Max 1x / week once established

Nurseries
Nurseries
Carried by 42

Ease of Care
Ease of Care
Very Easy

Cold Tolerance
Cold Tolerance
Tolerates cold to -10 - 0° F

Soil Drainage
Soil Drainage
Fast, Medium, Slow, Standing

Soil Description
Soil Description
Heavier riparian soils, sandy washes. Soil PH: 6 - 9

Common uses
Common uses
Hedges, Butterfly Gardens, Bird Gardens, Bee Gardens

Companion Plants
Companion Plants
Red WIllow, Black Willow, Sandbar Willow

Maintenance
Maintenance
This plant can be pruned as desired. If can be cut down to just a few inches above the ground if it's looking dead and weedy, and will grow back nicely.

Natural Setting
Site Type
Site Type
sandy washes, streambanks, valley grasslands

Climate
Climate
Annual Precipitation: 2.5" - 56.9", Summer Precipitation: 0.14" - 2.39", Coldest Month: 39.2" - 61.4", Hottest Month: 59.8" - 89.6", Humidity: 0.09" - 47.01", Elevation: -227" - 6779"

Alternative Names
Botanical Names: Baccharis viminea
Common Names: Mule Fat, Mule's Fat, Mule-fat, Seep Willow, Seepwillow Baccharis, Water-wally


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Sources include: Wikipedia. All text shown in the "About" section of these pages is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License. Plant observation data provided by the participants of the California Consortia of Herbaria, Sunset information provided by Jepson Flora Project. Propogation from seed information provided by the Santa Barbara Botanical Garden from "Seed Propagation of Native California Plants" by Dara E. Emery. Sources of plant photos include CalPhotos, Wikimedia Commons, and independent plant photographers who have agreed to share their images with Calscape. Other general sources of information include Calflora, CNPS Manual of Vegetation Online, Jepson Flora Project, Las Pilitas, Theodore Payne, Tree of Life, The Xerces Society, and information provided by CNPS volunteer editors, with special thanks to Don Rideout. Climate data used in creation of plant range maps is from PRISM Climate Group, Oregon State University, using 30 year (1981-2010) annual "normals" at an 800 meter spatial resolution.

Links:   Jepson eFlora Taxon Page  CalPhotos  Wikipedia  Calflora


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