Description

Coyote bush is widespread in all of California’s coastal counties, the Channel Islands, Sacramento Valley and central Sierra foothills. It seems to prefer some coastal influence. Once it makes a foothold, it quickly grows into a vase-shaped shrub in the case of the consanguinea subspecies, or a fairly tidy mound in the case of the pilularis subspecies. A female plant produces copious amounts of aerial seeds which germinate readily. If left unchecked, one can quickly have a little forest of coyote bush, each of which will fight removal tenaciously. Planting a male plant is a good choice in a garden (See the “Male Form” entry). Coyote bush is underappreciated as a landscape plant. The shiny leaves are holly-like in form and cover the plant densely. These overlay gray-silver bark. Quite tolerant of aggressive pruning, Coyote bush can be pruned up to make a little tree (though it may need to be supported if it becomes top heavy), or thinned to reveal the bark and branch structure. This plant is also a great one for wildlife support.