If you have been out for a walk in the Wavecrest Open Space, you have surely seen your share of Coyote brush. Baccharis pilularis, commonly known as coyote brush or coyote bush, is a shrub that can be found all over California- from San Diego County to Oregon, in a variety of habitats, from coastal bluffs to oak woodlands. Coyote brush is a woody perennial evergreen that looks like a bush but takes on a variety of different shapes, depending upon where it lives. There are two different subspecies of coyote bush. Asteraceae - Baccharis pilularis ssp. consanguinea - COYOTE BRUSH - is an upright, taller shrub. Asteraceae - Baccharis pilularis ssp. pilularis - COYOTE BRUSH (LOW GROWING) is low growing, mat forming (mostly less than 2 feet tall) and is considered a ground cover.

Coyote brush is a perennial evergreen shrub that typically blooms between September and January, when the majority of other plants are dormant. It can grow in many soil types, including alkaline and clay soil, providing a thick woody shrub for wildlife cover and a critical nectar source for many native species of butterflies, bees, wasps, and flies. Coyote brush is dioecious, meaning each plant is either male (its flowers are pollen-producing) or female (its flowers are seed-producing). The white fluffy female and yellowish male flowers grow on separate shrubs.

Coyote shrubs are exceptionally adept at survival, with a large root system which extends many yards out from the plant. It is extremely drought, deer, and fire resistant, and is referred to as a pioneer species because it is one of the first shrubs to appear after other plants have been removed by cultivation or fire.

There are a number of different theories for why this plant is called “coyote brush/bush”. One suggestion is that the seed pods have a crown of white hairs that give the appearance of a mass of fluffy white coyote fur. Another theory is that, like the coyotes, it is very adaptable to different habitats and climates.