Description

Coyote brush, or coyote bush, is sometimes mistaken for French broom, but Coyote brush is a native shrub and an important part of our ecosystems, while French broom is highly invasive and flammable. The edges of Coyote brush leaves are usually toothed, and they are simple (single), not three-part like French broom’s. Coyote brush also does not have bright-yellow pea-like flowers.

Coyote brush plants are either male or female. Both have cream-colored, non-showy blooms in late summer or fall. Female plants develop fluffy seed heads in the fall, which can be widely dispersed by wind. Male plants do not produce seeds.

Stewardship Considerations

Coyote brush vigorously re-sprouts and can tolerate severe pruning. Plants need to be cut back every few years. Woody older growth is flammable. Although it readily regrows after cutting back, the new sprouts are less flammable, and frequent cutting will eventually kill plants, if that is the goal. The objective is not to eliminate this plant but to reduce fire risk by cutting back larger, woodier plants, to thin and separate plants and remove fuel ladders.

Bottom left: Female plant with fluffy pappuses (hairy tufts)—this photo was taken after much of the seed was already dispersed.

Bottom Right: Coyote brush leaves.

Bottom Right: Stump-sprouting

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Learn more about coyote brush from the California Native Plant Society