Flora of North America species comparison

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Artemisia carruthii

Artemisia absinthium

Carruth wormwood, Carruth's sagebrush, Carruth's sagewort, Carruth's wormwood

absinth wormwood, absinthe, absinthe wormwood, absinthium, armoise absinthe, common wormwood, green ginger, oldman, oldman wormwood, wormwood
Habit Perennials, 15–40(–70) cm, faintly aromatic (rhizomatous). Perennials, 40–60(–100) cm (mat-forming), aromatic.
Stems

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

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

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).

deciduous, gray-green;

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

campanulate, 2–2.5(–3) × 1.5–3 mm.

broadly ovoid, 2–3 × 3–5 mm.
Florets

pistillate 1–5;

bisexual 7–25;

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

pistillate 9–20;

bisexual 30–50;

corollas 1–2 mm, glandular.
Phyllaries

lanceolate, gray-tomentose.

gray-green, densely sericeous.
Heads

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

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

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

(± cylindric, slightly curved, obscurely nerved), ± 0.5 mm, glabrous (shiny).
2n

= 18.

= 18.

Artemisia carruthii

Artemisia absinthium
Phenology Flowering mid summer–early fall. Flowering mid summer–fall.
Habitat Open sites, usually sandy soils, wooded areas, grasslands, railroads Widely cultivated, persisting from plantings, disturbed areas
Elevation 600–2900 m (2000–9500 ft) 0–1000 m (0–3300 ft)
Distribution
from FNA
AZ; CO; KS; MI; MO; NM; OK; TX; UT; Mexico (Chihuahua, Sonora)
[WildflowerSearch map]
[BONAP county map]
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]
Discussion

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.)

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. 524. FNA vol. 19, p. 519.
Parent taxa Asteraceae > tribe Anthemideae > Artemisia > subg. Artemisia Asteraceae > tribe Anthemideae > Artemisia > subg. Absinthium
Sibling taxa
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
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
Synonyms A. bakeri, A. coloradensis, A. kansana, A. vulgaris subsp. wrightii, A. wrightii
Name authority Alph. Wood ex Carruth: Trans. Kansas Acad. Sci. 5: 51. (1877) Linnaeus: Sp. Pl. 2: 848. (1753)
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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