Burke: Artemisia tridentata vs. Artemisia arbuscula

	Artemisia tridentata	Artemisia arbuscula
	big sagebrush	dwarf sagebrush, low sagebrush
Habit	Erect, branching, aromatic shrub, 4-20 dm. tall, the leaves and young branches covered with fine, grey hairs.	Erect, branching, aromatic shrub, 1-4 dm. tall, the leaves and young branches covered with fine, grey hairs.
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.	Leaves persisting through the winter, narrowly wedge-shaped, up to 1.5 cm. long, deeply 3-toothed at the apex, the upper ones narrower and often entire.
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.	Heads numerous, sessile, in a spike-like panicle, up to 1.5 cm. wide; involucre 3-5 mm. high, covered with fine, grey hairs; corollas all tubular, fertile, all perfect, yellowish, mostly 3-8; receptacle without hairs; pappus none.
Fruits	Achenes glabrous.	Achenes glabrous.

	Artemisia tridentata	Artemisia arbuscula
Flowering time	July-September	July-September
Habitat	Dry plains and foothills to the subalpine, but not in lithosol or alkaline soil.	Open, dry plains and hills in sagebrush desert.
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 east of the Cascades crest in Washington; central Washington to California, east to the Rocky Mountains. [WildflowerSearch map] [BONAP county map]
Origin	Native	Native
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. absinthium, A. annua, 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	A. arbuscula ssp. arbuscula
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: CA, OR, WA Local Web sites: CalFlora, CalPhotos, Flora NW, PNW Herbaria 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 arbuscula

big sagebrush

dwarf sagebrush, low sagebrush

Habit

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

Erect, branching, aromatic shrub, 1-4 dm. tall, the leaves and young branches covered with fine, grey hairs.

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.

Leaves persisting through the winter, narrowly wedge-shaped, up to 1.5 cm. long, deeply 3-toothed at the apex, the upper ones narrower and often entire.

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.

Heads numerous, sessile, in a spike-like panicle, up to 1.5 cm. wide;

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

corollas all tubular, fertile, all perfect, yellowish, mostly 3-8;

receptacle without hairs;

pappus none.

Fruits