A pioneer plant in communities such as coastal sage scrub and chaparral. Coyote Brush makes an excellent nurse plant for young oak trees, offering shade and protection. When the native vegetation is removed from an area by bulldozer, or tilling, or grazing, or fire, and trampling animals, one of the first native plants that returns to the area is the Coyote Brush. The Baccharis species are the nectar sources for most of the predatory wasps, native skippers (small butterflies) and native flies in most areas. You will see the weirdest bugs on the these plants.