Flora of North America species comparison

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Artemisia pygmaea

Artemisia suksdorfii

pygmy sage, pygmy sagebrush

coastal mugwort, coastal wormwood, Suksdorf sagewort, Suksdorf's mugwort, Suksdorf's sagewort, Suksdorf's wormwood
Habit Shrubs, 5–10 cm, slightly aromatic; not root-sprouting (caudices coarsely woody, branched). Perennials, 50–170(–200) cm, aromatic (rhizomes woody, coarse).
Stems

pale to light brown (stiffly erect, densely clothed with appressed foliage), sparsely tomentose.

usually 10+, erect, light brown, simple, usually glabrous.
Leaves

persistent (sessile, rigid), bright green;

blades oblong to ovate, 0.3–0.5 × 0.2–0.3 cm, pinnately lobed (nearly to midribs, 1/3+ widths of blades, lobes 3–7, divergent), faces glabrous or sparsely tomentose, resinous.

cauline (sessile), bicolor (white and dark green);

blades lanceolate, 5–10(–15) × 1–5 cm (bases strongly tapered, attenuate), coarsely and irregularly lobed, faces tomentose (abaxial) or glabrous (adaxial).
Involucres

narrowly turbinate, 2–3 × 3–4 mm.

narrowly turbinate or globose, 1.5–2.5 × 1–1.5 mm.
Florets

2–6;

corollas 2.5–3 mm, glandular (style branches flat, erose, exsert).

pistillate 2–5;

bisexual 2–7;

corollas yellow, 1.5–3 mm, glabrous.
Phyllaries

(green) narrowly lanceolate (midribs prominent), glabrous or sparsely tomentose.

(straw-colored to yellow-green, shiny) lanceolate, glabrous or sparsely hairy.
Heads

(sessile, erect) in paniculiform to racemiform arrays (1–)2–3 × 0.5–1 cm.

(erect) in crowded (proximally leafy), paniculiform or racemiform arrays 17–30 × (2–)4–5 cm (lateral branches stiff, erect).
Cypselae

(prismatic) 0.4–0.5 mm, glabrous, resinous.

ellipsoid, 0.8–1.5 mm, glabrous.
2n

= 18.

= 18.

Artemisia pygmaea

Artemisia suksdorfii
Phenology Flowering mid summer–fall. Flowering mid summer–fall.
Habitat Fine-textured soils of gypsum or shale Coastal habitats, often along roads or drainages
Elevation 1500–1800 m (4900–5900 ft) 0–200 m (0–700 ft)
Distribution
from FNA
AZ; CO; NM; NV; UT
[BONAP county map]
from FNA
CA; OR; WA; BC
[WildflowerSearch map]
[BONAP county map]
Discussion

Artemisia pygmaea is a distinctive, faintly aromatic shrublet, often mistaken for something other than a sagebrush. In early spring its stiff, bright green, deeply pinnatifid leaves are reminiscent of some prickly member of Polemoniaceae. After flowering, its heads and narrow panicles easily identify it as a member of Artemisia; it is unlike other members of the subgenus (which typically have 3-lobed leaves in fascicled lateral shoots). The molecular analysis by L. E. Watson et al. (2002) supported its phylogenetic alignment within subg. Tridentatae.

(Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.)

Artemisia suksdorfii is similar morphologically to A. douglasiana; it has more and smaller heads, and glabrous phyllaries. The two species hybridize where their ranges overlap.

(Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.)
Source FNA vol. 19, p. 514. FNA vol. 19, p. 533.
Parent taxa Asteraceae > tribe Anthemideae > Artemisia > subg. Tridentatae Asteraceae > tribe Anthemideae > Artemisia > subg. Artemisia
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. 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. 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. scopulorum, A. senjavinensis, A. serrata, A. spiciformis, A. stelleriana, A. tilesii, A. tridentata, A. tripartita, A. vulgaris
Synonyms Seriphidium pygmaeum A. heterophylla, A. vulgaris var. littoralis
Name authority A. Gray: Proc. Amer. Acad. Arts 21: 413. (1886) Piper: Bull. Torrey Bot. Club 28: 42. (1901)
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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