Artemisia absinthium
Artemisia annua
absinth wormwood, absinthe, absinthe wormwood, absinthium, armoise absinthe, common wormwood, green ginger, oldman, oldman wormwood, wormwood
annual wormwood, armoise annuelle, sweet annie, sweet sagewort
gray-green (sometimes woody proximally), densely canescent to glabrescent (hairs appressed).
mostly 1, erect, green, turning to reddish brown with age, simple (smooth or ribbed), glabrous or sparsely hairy.
deciduous, gray-green;
blades broadly ovate, 3–8 × 1–4 cm, mostly pinnately lobed (basal 2–3-pinnatifid, lobes obovate), faces densely canescent.
cauline, bright green;
blades triangular to broadly ovate, 2–5(–10) × 2–4 cm, 2–3-pinnatifid (lobes relatively narrow, ± toothed), faces glabrous, gland-dotted.
broadly ovoid, 2–3 × 3–5 mm.
globose, 1.5–2.5 × 1.5–2.5 mm.
pistillate 9–20;
bisexual 30–50;
corollas 1–2 mm, glandular.
pistillate (0–)10–20;
bisexual 18–24;
corollas pale yellow (broadly campanulate), 0.5–1 mm, glabrous.
gray-green, densely sericeous.
(green) lanceolate, glabrous.
(nodding) in open (diffusely branched), paniculiform arrays 10–20(–35) × (2–)10–13(–15) cm.
(nodding, peduncles 2–5 mm) in open, (diffusely branched, leafy) arrays 15–30(–40) × 10–20 cm.
(± cylindric, slightly curved, obscurely nerved), ± 0.5 mm, glabrous (shiny).
oblong (flattened), 0.3–0.8 mm, glabrous.
= 18.
= 18.
Artemisia absinthium
Artemisia annua
Artemisia absinthium provides the flavoring as well as the psychoactive ingredient for absinthe liquor, a beverage that is illegal in some markets. Known as a powerful neurotoxin, absinthe in large quantities is addictive as well as deadly. The species is popular in the horticultural trade. Prized by gardeners for its gracefully scalloped leaves and gray-green foliage, it creates an attractive and winter-hardy flower border.
(Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.)
Widely cultivated for aromatic oils, Artemisia annua often persists in gardens, becoming naturalized in moist-temperate areas (especially in eastern United States). Reports of naturalization may be exaggerated (reported for Prince Edward Island, but not established).
The systematic placement of this species appears to align most closely with species of the Eurasian subg. Seriphidium (L. E. Watson et al. 2002). Molecular evidence suggests that the Artemisia annua lineage may be ancestral to woody species in the Old World.
(Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.)
- Local floras:
BC, 
OR, 
WA - Local Web sites:
CalFlora, CalPhotos, 
Flora NW, 
Go Botany, 
IL Wildflowers, 
KS Wildflowers, 
MD Biodiversity, 
MI Flora, 
MN Wildflowers, 
MO Plants, 
PNW Herbaria, Turner Photog. 
WildflowerSearch
iNaturalist (observations)
USDA Plants Database- LBJ Wildflower Center
- SEINet
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- Encyclopedia of Life
- Wikipedia
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- Local floras: BC, CA, WA
- Local Web sites: CalFlora, CalPhotos, Flora NW, Go Botany, IL Wildflowers, KS Wildflowers,
LA Plants, MD Biodiversity, MI Flora, PNW Herbaria - WildflowerSearch
- iNaturalist (observations)
- USDA Plants Database
- LBJ Wildflower Center
- SEINet
- Plants of the World Online
- Encyclopedia of Life
- Wikipedia
- Google Image Search
