Artemisia spinescens

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Artemisia spinescens
Artemisiaspinescens.jpg
Arches National Park, Utah
Status TNC G5.svg
Secure  (NatureServe) [1]
Scientific classification OOjs UI icon edit-ltr.svg
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Tracheophytes
Clade: Angiosperms
Clade: Eudicots
Clade: Asterids
Order: Asterales
Family: Asteraceae
Genus: Artemisia
Species:
A. spinescens
Binomial name
Artemisia spinescens
Synonyms [2] [3]
  • Picrothamnus desertorumNutt. 1841 not Artemisia desertorum Spreng. 1826

Artemisia spinescens is a North American species of sagebrush in the sunflower family, known by the common name budsage. [4]

Contents

Many sources treat the species separately from genus Artemisia and named Picrothamnus desertorum. [5] [2] [4] This separation has not, however, been supported by genetic analysis. [6]

Distribution and habitat

Artemisia spinescens is native to the western United States from southern and eastern California and the Great Basin, north to Idaho and Montana, and east to western Colorado and northwestern New Mexico. [7]

Artemisia spinescens grows in scrub and other habitat on clay and gravel-rich soils. It thrives on salty soils, growing with other salt-tolerant plants such as saltbushes ('Atriplex sp.). [8] It is adapted to very dry climates. [4]

Description

Artemisia spinescens is a squat shrub forming a rounded bush up to 30 to 50 centimeters in maximum height. Its tangled branches are woolly when new and thorny and rough when aged. The stem is woody and corky. [4]

The strongly aromatic foliage is made up of many small, fuzzy leaves divided into narrow, pointed segments. It is deciduous, dropping its leaves during the dry summer when it becomes dormant. [4]

The inflorescence is a raceme of small clusters of flower heads sprouting from leaf axils. Each head contains several tiny bell-shaped sterile disc florets and a few fertile ray florets. [4]

The fruit is a tiny hairy achene less than a millimeter long. [4]

Uses

This plant is considered good forage for wild and domestic grazing animals early in the season when the foliage is new and soft. [6] Later in the season when the plant produces large quantities of bitter volatile oils it becomes unpalatable. [8]

Related Research Articles

<i>Artemisia</i> (plant) Genus of flowering plants in the daisy family Asteraceae

Artemisia is a large, diverse genus of plants belonging to the daisy family Asteraceae, with between 200 and 400 species. Common names for various species in the genus include mugwort, wormwood, and sagebrush.

<i>Artemisia californica</i> Species of plant

Artemisia californica, also known as California sagebrush, is a species of western North American shrub in the sunflower family.

<i>Artemisia douglasiana</i> Species of flowering plant

Artemisia douglasiana, known as California mugwort, Douglas's sagewort, or dream plant, is a western North American species of aromatic herb in the sunflower family.

<i>Anaphalis margaritacea</i> Species of flowering plant

Anaphalis margaritacea, commonly known as the western pearly everlasting or pearly everlasting, is an Asian and North American species of flowering perennial plant in the family Asteraceae.

<i>Artemisia pycnocephala</i> Species of flowering plant

Artemisia pycnocephala is a North American species of sagebrush in the sunflower family, known by the common names beach wormwood, sandhill sage, and coastal sagewort.

<i>Ericameria discoidea</i> Species of flowering plant

Ericameria discoidea, commonly known as whitestem goldenbush or sharp-scale goldenweed is a species of flowering shrub in the family Asteraceae. This plant is native to the western United States from California, Oregon, Nevada, Utah, Colorado, Idaho, and Montana.

<i>Ericameria nana</i> Species of plant

Ericameria nana is a North American species of flowering shrub in the family Asteraceae known by the common names dwarf goldenbush and rubberweed. It is native to the western United States from eastern California, southeastern Oregon, Nevada, Idaho, Utah, and southwestern Montana.

<i>Artemisia ludoviciana</i> Species of plant

Artemisia ludoviciana is a North American species of flowering plant in the daisy family Asteraceae, known by several common names, including silver wormwood, western mugwort, Louisiana wormwood, white sagebrush, lobed cud-weed, prairie sage, and gray sagewort.

<i>Artemisia arbuscula</i> Species of flowering plant

Artemisia arbuscula is a North American species of sagebrush known by the common names little sagebrush, low sagebrush, or black sagebrush. It is native to the western United States from Washington, Oregon, and California east as far as Colorado and Wyoming. It grows in open, exposed habitat on dry, sterile soils high in rock and clay content.

<i>Artemisia bigelovii</i> Species of flowering plant

Artemisia bigelovii is a North American species of sagebrush known by the common name Bigelow sagebrush or flat sagebrush. It grows in the deserts of the southwestern United States.

<i>Artemisia michauxiana</i> Species of flowering plant

Artemisia michauxiana is a North American species of wormwood in the sunflower family. It is known by the common names Michaux's wormwood and lemon sagewort. It is native to the western United States and Canada. It grows in mountain talus habitats in subalpine to alpine climates.

<i>Artemisia nesiotica</i> Species of flowering plant

Artemisia nesiotica is a rare California species of sagebrush in the daisy family, known by the common name island sagebrush. It is endemic to the Channel Islands of California, found on 3 of the 8 islands.

<i>Artemisia palmeri</i> Species of tree

Artemisia palmeri is a rare species of sagebrush known by the common names San Diego sagewort and Palmer sagewort.

<i>Artemisia rothrockii</i> Species of flowering plant

Artemisia rothrockii is a North American species of sagebrush known by the common names timberline sagebrush and Rothrock's sagebrush.

<i>Chaenactis suffrutescens</i> Species of flowering plant

Chaenactis suffrutescens is a species of flowering plant in the aster family known by the common name Shasta chaenactis.

<i>Allium bisceptrum</i> Species of flowering plant

Allium bisceptrum, also known as the twincrest onion or aspen onion, is a high elevation plant native to western United States. It is a perennial that thrives under damp and shady conditions or open meadows in California, Arizona, New Mexico, Nevada, Oregon, Washington, Idaho, and Utah.

<i>Artemisia norvegica</i> Species of flowering plant

Artemisia norvegica is a species of flowering plant in the aster family known by the common names alpine sagewort, boreal sagewort, mountain sagewort, Norwegian mugwort, arctic wormwood, and spruce wormwood. It is found in cold locations in Eurasia and high altitudes and high latitudes in North America.

<i>Artemisia frigida</i> Species of flowering plant

Artemisia frigida is a widespread species of flowering plant in the aster family, which is known as the sunflower family. It is native to Europe, Asia, and much of North America. In parts of the north-central and northeastern United States it is an introduced species.

<i>Artemisia pygmaea</i> Species of flowering plant

Artemisia pygmaea is a North American species of sagebrush in the aster family known by the common name pygmy sagebrush.

<i>Eriogonum diatomaceum</i> Species of wild buckwheat

Eriogonum diatomaceum is a species of wild buckwheat known by the common name Churchill Narrows buckwheat. It is endemic to Nevada in the United States, where it is known only from the Pine Nut Mountains in Lyon County. It is limited to the Churchill Narrows near Fort Churchill State Historic Park. This plant was discovered in 1997 and described to science in 2002.

References

  1. "NatureServe Explorer - Artemisia spinescens". NatureServe Explorer Artemisia spinescens. NatureServe. 2022-05-30. Retrieved 30 May 2022.
  2. 1 2 The Plant List Picrothamnus desertorum Nutt.
  3. Tropicos, Artemisia spinescens D.C. Eaton
  4. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Flora of North America, Budsage, Picrothamnus Nuttall, Trans. Amer. Philos. Soc., n. s. 7: 417. 1841.
  5. "Picrothamnus desertorum". Integrated Taxonomic Information System.
  6. 1 2 Forest Service Info Sheet
  7. Biota of North America Program 2014 distribution map, Picrothamnus desertorum
  8. 1 2 Forest Service Fire Ecology Archived October 22, 2008, at the Wayback Machine