Burke: Artemisia tridentata vs. Artemisia absinthium

	Artemisia tridentata	Artemisia absinthium
	big sagebrush	absinthe, oldman, wormwood
Habit	Erect, branching, aromatic shrub, 4-20 dm. tall, the leaves and young branches covered with fine, grey hairs.	Fragrant perennial herb, 4-12 dm. tall, silky throughout with soft hairs at least when young.
Leaves	Leaves persisting through the winter, narrowly wedge-shaped, 1.5-5 cm. long, 3-toothed at the apex, the upper ones narrower and mostly entire.	Lower leaves long-petiolate, 2-3 times pinnatifid, with oblong segments 1.5-4 mm. wide, the blade rounded-ovate in outline, 3-8 cm. long; other leaves progressively reduced upward.
Flowers	Heads numerous, sessile, in a loose, elongate panicle, 1.5-7 cm. wide; involucre 3-5 mm. high, covered with fine, grey hairs; corollas all tubular, fertile, all perfect, yellowish, mostly 3-5, occasionally more; receptacle without hairs; pappus none.	Inflorescence ample, leafy; involucre 2-3 mm. high, densely silky-hairy, dry and somewhat papery; corollas all tubular, yellowish, fertile, the marginal ones pistillate; receptacle covered with long, white hairs; pappus none.
Fruits	Achenes glabrous.	Achenes glabrous.

	Artemisia tridentata	Artemisia absinthium
Flowering time	July-September	July-September
Habitat	Dry plains and foothills to the subalpine, but not in lithosol or alkaline soil.	Roadsides, fields, ditches, wastelots, and other disturbed open areas.
Distribution	Occurring chiefly east of the Cascades crest in Washington; British Columbia to California, east to the Rocky Mountains and northern Great Plains. [WildflowerSearch map] [BONAP county map]	Occurring on both sides of the Cascades crest in Washington; British Columbia to California, east across much of North America to the Atlantic Coast. [WildflowerSearch map] [BONAP county map]
Origin	Native	Introduced from Eurasia
Conservation status	Not of concern	Not of concern
Sibling taxa	A. absinthium, A. annua, A. arbuscula, A. biennis, A. campestris, A. cana, A. douglasiana, A. dracunculus, A. frigida, A. furcata, A. ludoviciana, A. michauxiana, A. norvegica, A. rigida, A. spiciformis, A. stelleriana, A. suksdorfii, A. tilesii, A. tripartita, A. vulgaris	A. annua, A. arbuscula, A. biennis, A. campestris, A. cana, A. douglasiana, A. dracunculus, A. frigida, A. furcata, A. ludoviciana, A. michauxiana, A. norvegica, A. rigida, A. spiciformis, A. stelleriana, A. suksdorfii, A. tilesii, A. tridentata, A. tripartita, A. vulgaris
Subordinate taxa	A. tridentata ssp. tridentata, A. tridentata ssp. vaseyana, A. tridentata ssp. wyomingensis
Web links	Local floras: BC, CA, OR, WA Local Web sites: CalFlora, CalPhotos, Flora NW, PNW Herbaria, Turner Photog. WildflowerSearch iNaturalist (observations) USDA Plants Database LBJ Wildflower Center SEINet Plants of the World Online Encyclopedia of Life Wikipedia Google Image Search	Local floras: BC, OR, WA Local Web sites: Flora NW, PNW Herbaria, Turner Photog. WildflowerSearch iNaturalist (observations) USDA Plants Database LBJ Wildflower Center SEINet Plants of the World Online Encyclopedia of Life Wikipedia Google Image Search

Artemisia tridentata

Artemisia absinthium

big sagebrush

absinthe, oldman, wormwood

Habit

Erect, branching, aromatic shrub, 4-20 dm. tall, the leaves and young branches covered with fine, grey hairs.

Fragrant perennial herb, 4-12 dm. tall, silky throughout with soft hairs at least when young.

Leaves

Leaves persisting through the winter, narrowly wedge-shaped, 1.5-5 cm. long, 3-toothed at the apex, the upper ones narrower and mostly entire.

Lower leaves long-petiolate, 2-3 times pinnatifid, with oblong segments 1.5-4 mm. wide, the blade rounded-ovate in outline, 3-8 cm. long; other leaves progressively reduced upward.

Flowers

Heads numerous, sessile, in a loose, elongate panicle, 1.5-7 cm. wide;

involucre 3-5 mm. high, covered with fine, grey hairs;

corollas all tubular, fertile, all perfect, yellowish, mostly 3-5, occasionally more;

receptacle without hairs;

pappus none.

Inflorescence ample, leafy;

involucre 2-3 mm. high, densely silky-hairy, dry and somewhat papery;

corollas all tubular, yellowish, fertile, the marginal ones pistillate;

receptacle covered with long, white hairs;

pappus none.

Fruits