Baccharis is the shrub that turns the coastal marsh edges white in October, when the female plants go to seed and every branch tip fills with silky bristles that catch the light and blow apart in the first hard wind. The common names, groundsel bush and sea myrtle, undersell a plant that is one of the last significant nectar sources of the Southern year.

Baccharis halimifolia takes salt spray, brackish ground, drought, and poor sandy soil with equal indifference, which is exactly why the plants matter on a coastal lot where little else will establish. The species is dioecious, and the autumn show belongs to the females. One honest caution: Baccharis halimifolia seeds freely and has become an invasive pest in parts of Europe and Australia, so site the plants where volunteers are welcome or can be pulled.