Baccharis: from son of Jupiter to broom and gorse: a historical botanical and ethnobotanical view and the problems of commercialized products

Abstract

Baccharis spp. has long been used in popular medicine, as a diuretic and for stomach problems. In popular use, it became a widely commercialized plant, and in the market there is a great confusion on the names of the plant, in the packaging and vegetal content of the products sold, being common to observe different species in the market. This article seeks to show, based on material acquired in trade, research of herbaria vouchers, botanical and historic ethnobotanical literature, some of the probable reasons why these commercialized products have these problems.