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Artemisia ludoviciana - white sagebrush

Scientific Family
Asteraceae
Synonyms
A. ghiesbreghtii, A. muelleri , A. platyphylla , A. rhizomata var. pabularis , Cacalia runcinata
Other common names
silver wormwood
wild sage
prairie sage
Plant type
Forbs and Subshrubs
Origin
Native
Lifecycle
Perennial
Height
1 to 2-1/4 feet
Riparian
No

A white, woolly, perennial with erect stems and often clustered from creeping rhizomes. Has a strong sagebrush odor.

Woolly perennial; stems few to numerous, erect; leaves gray-green or greenish-white, hairy, linear to broadly elliptic, many divided into narrow lobes; flower heads of disc flowers, petals yellow, sometimes red-tinged, stemless or stemmed and drooping.

Habitat

Found on exposed slopes, forests, woodlands, and sandy floodplains.

Plant Community
Desert Scrub
Grasslands
Interior Chaparral
Montane Conifer Forest
Pinyon Juniper Woodlands
Low elevation
2500
High elevation
8500

Flower Characteristics

Flower heads are in small tight elongated clusters among the leaves near the ends of the stems. Each small flower head is a cup of hairy bracts surrounding disc flowers and less than 1/4 inch wide.

Flower color
Yellow
Flower shape
Inconspicuous
Tubular
No
First bloom month
August
Last bloom month
September
Flower clusters
Elongated

Leaf and Stem Characteristics

Leaves vary from smooth to toothed to lobed and are 1-1/4 to 4-1/2 inches long and 9/16 inch wide.

Leaf type
Simple
Leaf color
Grayish-green
Leaf shape
Narrow
Leaf margin
Lobed
Leaf attachment
Alternate
Leaves clasp
No
Leaf hairs
Leaves & stems
Spines
No

Fruit and Seed Characteristics

Fruits are dry, smooth, broadly cylindrical achenes.

Fruit type
Achene
Fruit color
Light brown