A close look at poverty weed’s tufts

Here you have a closeup of the last and most appealing stage in the perennial cycle of a poverty weed bush. Notice the receptacles that are left behind: those “stars” are a clue that Baccharis neglecta is a member of the Asteraceae, the family that includes asters and sunflowers and daisies but also many plants with flowers that look quite different.

I photographed this poverty weed along an edge of Morado Circle in my northwestern Austin neighborhood on November 13th.

© 2013 Steven Schwartzman