Flora of North America species comparison

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Artemisia scopulorum

Artemisia annua

alpine sagebrush, dwarf sagebrush

annual wormwood, armoise annuelle, sweet annie, sweet sagewort
Habit Perennials, 10–25 cm (cespitose), mildly aromatic (caudices relatively slender). Annuals, 30–200(–300) cm, sweetly aromatic.
Stems

gray-green, glabrate.

mostly 1, erect, green, turning to reddish brown with age, simple (smooth or ribbed), glabrous or sparsely hairy.
Leaves

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.

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.
Involucres

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

globose, 1.5–2.5 × 1.5–2.5 mm.
Florets

pistillate 6–13;

bisexual 15–30;

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

pistillate (0–)10–20;

bisexual 18–24;

corollas pale yellow (broadly campanulate), 0.5–1 mm, glabrous.
Phyllaries

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

(green) lanceolate, glabrous.
Heads

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

(nodding, peduncles 2–5 mm) in open, (diffusely branched, leafy) arrays 15–30(–40) × 10–20 cm.
Cypselae

0.8–1 mm, glabrous.

oblong (flattened), 0.3–0.8 mm, glabrous.
2n

= 18.

= 18.

Artemisia scopulorum

Artemisia annua
Phenology Flowering mid–late summer. Flowering late summer–fall.
Habitat Alpine meadows, protected areas, bases of rocks Moist waste areas, sandy soils
Elevation 3100–4200 m (10200–13800 ft) 0–2000 m (0–6600 ft)
Distribution
from FNA
CO; MT; NM; NV; UT; WY
[WildflowerSearch map]
[BONAP county map]
from FNA
AL; AR; AZ; CA; CO; CT; DC; DE; IA; ID; IL; IN; KS; KY; LA; MA; MD; ME; MI; MS; MT; NC; NE; NH; NJ; NY; OH; OK; OR; PA; TN; TX; VA; VT; WA; WI; WV; WY; NB; ON; QC; Eurasia [Introduced in North America]
[WildflowerSearch map]
[BONAP county map]
Discussion

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.)
Source FNA vol. 19, p. 520. FNA vol. 19, p. 523.
Parent taxa Asteraceae > tribe Anthemideae > Artemisia > subg. Absinthium 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. 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
A. abrotanum, A. absinthium, A. alaskana, A. aleutica, 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. chamomilla
Name authority A. Gray: Proc. Acad. Nat. Sci. Philadelphia 15: 66. (1863) Linnaeus: Sp. Pl. 2: 847. (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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