Flora of North America species comparison

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Artemisia absinthium

Artemisia carruthii

absinth wormwood, absinthe, absinthe wormwood, absinthium, armoise absinthe, common wormwood, green ginger, oldman, oldman wormwood, wormwood

Carruth wormwood, Carruth's sagebrush, Carruth's sagewort, Carruth's wormwood
Habit Perennials, 40–60(–100) cm (mat-forming), aromatic. Perennials, 15–40(–70) cm, faintly aromatic (rhizomatous).
Stems

gray-green (sometimes woody proximally), densely canescent to glabrescent (hairs appressed).

mostly 3–8, ascending, brown to gray-green, simple (bases curved, somewhat woody), sparsely to densely tomentose.
Leaves

deciduous, gray-green;

blades broadly ovate, 3–8 × 1–4 cm, mostly pinnately lobed (basal 2–3-pinnatifid, lobes obovate), faces densely canescent.

cauline, bicolor (± gray-green);

blades narrowly elliptic, 0.1–2.5(–3) × 0.5–1 cm (gradually smaller distally), relatively deeply pinnatifid (lobes 3–5), faces densely tomentose (abaxial) to sparsely hairy (adaxial).
Involucres

broadly ovoid, 2–3 × 3–5 mm.

campanulate, 2–2.5(–3) × 1.5–3 mm.
Florets

pistillate 9–20;

bisexual 30–50;

corollas 1–2 mm, glandular.

pistillate 1–5;

bisexual 7–25;

corollas pale yellow, 1–2 mm, glandular-pubescent.
Phyllaries

gray-green, densely sericeous.

lanceolate, gray-tomentose.
Heads

(nodding) in open (diffusely branched), paniculiform arrays 10–20(–35) × (2–)10–13(–15) cm.

(usually nodding) in (leafy) paniculiform arrays 10–30 × 3–9 cm (branches erect).
Cypselae

(± cylindric, slightly curved, obscurely nerved), ± 0.5 mm, glabrous (shiny).

(light brown) cylindro-elliptic, ca. 0.5 mm, (curved at summits, scarcely nerved), glabrous (shining).
2n

= 18.

= 18.

Artemisia absinthium

Artemisia carruthii
Phenology Flowering mid summer–fall. Flowering mid summer–early fall.
Habitat Widely cultivated, persisting from plantings, disturbed areas Open sites, usually sandy soils, wooded areas, grasslands, railroads
Elevation 0–1000 m [0–3300 ft] 600–2900 m [2000–9500 ft]
Distribution
from FNA
CA; CO; CT; IA; ID; IL; IN; KS; MA; MD; ME; MI; MN; MO; MT; NC; ND; NE; NH; NJ; NY; OH; OR; PA; RI; SC; SD; TN; UT; VT; WA; WI; WY; AB; BC; MB; NB; NF; NS; ON; PE; QC; SK; Europe [Introduced in North America]
[WildflowerSearch map]
[BONAP county map]
from FNA
AZ; CO; KS; MI; MO; NM; OK; TX; UT; Mexico (Chihuahua, Sonora)
[WildflowerSearch map]
[BONAP county map]
Discussion

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.)

Artemisia carruthii is closely related to members of the A. ludoviciana complex, with which it may intergrade.

(Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.)
Source FNA vol. 19, p. 519. Treatment author: Leila M. Shultz. FNA vol. 19, p. 524. Treatment author: Leila M. Shultz.
Parent taxa Asteraceae > tribe Anthemideae > Artemisia > subg. Absinthium Asteraceae > tribe Anthemideae > Artemisia > subg. Artemisia
Sibling taxa
A. abrotanum, A. alaskana, A. aleutica, A. annua, A. arbuscula, A. biennis, A. bigelovii, A. borealis, A. californica, A. campestris, A. cana, A. carruthii, A. douglasiana, A. dracunculus, A. filifolia, A. franserioides, A. frigida, A. furcata, A. globularia, A. glomerata, A. laciniata, A. longifolia, A. ludoviciana, A. michauxiana, A. nesiotica, A. norvegica, A. nova, A. packardiae, A. palmeri, A. papposa, A. pattersonii, A. pedatifida, A. pontica, A. porteri, A. pycnocephala, A. pygmaea, A. rigida, A. rothrockii, A. rupestris, A. scopulorum, A. senjavinensis, A. serrata, A. spiciformis, A. stelleriana, A. suksdorfii, A. tilesii, A. tridentata, A. tripartita, A. vulgaris
A. abrotanum, A. absinthium, A. alaskana, A. aleutica, A. annua, A. arbuscula, A. biennis, A. bigelovii, A. borealis, A. californica, A. campestris, A. cana, A. douglasiana, A. dracunculus, A. filifolia, A. franserioides, A. frigida, A. furcata, A. globularia, A. glomerata, A. laciniata, A. longifolia, A. ludoviciana, A. michauxiana, A. nesiotica, A. norvegica, A. nova, A. packardiae, A. palmeri, A. papposa, A. pattersonii, A. pedatifida, A. pontica, A. porteri, A. pycnocephala, A. pygmaea, A. rigida, A. rothrockii, A. rupestris, A. scopulorum, A. senjavinensis, A. serrata, A. spiciformis, A. stelleriana, A. suksdorfii, A. tilesii, A. tridentata, A. tripartita, A. vulgaris
Synonyms A. bakeri, A. coloradensis, A. kansana, A. vulgaris subsp. wrightii, A. wrightii
Name authority Linnaeus: Sp. Pl. 2: 848. (1753) Alph. Wood ex Carruth: Trans. Kansas Acad. Sci. 5: 51. (1877)
Web links 
Unless otherwise noted, all data comes from the online version of the Flora of North America, who have made most of their content available via a Creative Commons license (CC BY 4.0).



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