Baccharis halimifolia

Native from eastern Canada through the eastern and southern United States to eastern Mexico, and to the Bahamas and Cuba, this perennial shrub grows about 5 to 12 feet tall. It is deciduous in colder areas and retains foliage in warmer climates. Male and female flowers occur on separate plants. After flowering in late summer and fall, female plants develop conspicuous white, silky seed plumes that carry the seeds on the wind. It tolerates salt spray and wet soils. Naturalized and invasive in eastern Australia and coastal France and Spain, it forms dense stands that displace native vegetation. It can poison cattle if eaten in large quantities. Photographed in Virginia, United States.