Chaparral Broom

Baccharis saratoides

 

Habitat: Chaparral, Coastal Sage Scrub, Disturbed Areas

Value to Environment: Chaparral Broom is very important to the environment. These plants help return bacteria and minerals to the soil, which native plants need to survive. In this way it helps other native plants to return to their natural habitat. When the mining company mined the gravel and soil in the Otay River they not only destroyed the plants but they also destroyed their habitat. Chaparral Broom is one of the first native plants to come back after the Coastal Sage Scrub/Chaparral habitat has been destroyed.

Value to Man: The Native Americans used the plants as thatch to built houses and ,perhaps, as a broom.