Baccharis salicina is a shrub producing erect, branching stems approaching 4 metres (13 ft) in maximum height.

The thick leaves are oblong to oval in shape and sometimes have roughly toothed edges.

The shrub is dioecious, with male and female plants producing flower heads of different types.

The head is enclosed in a layer of phyllaries and the female flowers yield fruits, each an achene with a white pappus about a centimeter long.

[3][9] The plant grows on open sandy flood plains, most commonly in mildly saline areas.