Flora of North America species comparison

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Artemisia absinthium

Artemisia scopulorum

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

alpine sagebrush, dwarf sagebrush
Habit Perennials, 40–60(–100) cm (mat-forming), aromatic. Perennials, 10–25 cm (cespitose), mildly aromatic (caudices relatively slender).
Stems

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

gray-green, glabrate.
Leaves

deciduous, gray-green;

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

persistent, gray-green;

blades (basal) oblanceolate, 2–7 × 0.1 cm, 2-pinnately lobed (lobes linear or oblanceolate; cauline blades smaller, 1–2-pinnate or entire), faces silky-canescent.
Involucres

broadly ovoid, 2–3 × 3–5 mm.

broadly globose or subglobose, 4 × 4–7 mm.
Florets

pistillate 9–20;

bisexual 30–50;

corollas 1–2 mm, glandular.

pistillate 6–13;

bisexual 15–30;

corollas 1.5–2.5 mm, hairy (at least on lobes).
Phyllaries

gray-green, densely sericeous.

green (margins black or dark brown), densely villous.
Heads

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

(5–22) in spiciform arrays 5–9 × 1–1.5 cm.
Cypselae

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

0.8–1 mm, glabrous.
2n

= 18.

= 18.

Artemisia absinthium

Artemisia scopulorum
Phenology Flowering mid summer–fall. Flowering mid–late summer.
Habitat Widely cultivated, persisting from plantings, disturbed areas Alpine meadows, protected areas, bases of rocks
Elevation 0–1000 m [0–3300 ft] 3100–4200 m [10200–13800 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
CO; MT; NM; NV; UT; WY
[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.)
Source FNA vol. 19, p. 519. Treatment author: Leila M. Shultz. FNA vol. 19, p. 520. Treatment author: Leila M. Shultz.
Parent taxa Asteraceae > tribe Anthemideae > Artemisia > subg. Absinthium Asteraceae > tribe Anthemideae > Artemisia > subg. Absinthium
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. 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. senjavinensis, A. serrata, A. spiciformis, A. stelleriana, A. suksdorfii, A. tilesii, A. tridentata, A. tripartita, A. vulgaris
Name authority Linnaeus: Sp. Pl. 2: 848. (1753) A. Gray: Proc. Acad. Nat. Sci. Philadelphia 15: 66. (1863)
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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