Flora of North America species comparison

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Artemisia scopulorum

Artemisia michauxiana

alpine sagebrush, dwarf sagebrush

lemon sagewort, Michaux' wormwood, Michaux's mugwort, Michaux's wormwood
Habit Perennials, 10–25 cm (cespitose), mildly aromatic (caudices relatively slender). Perennials, 30–100 cm, strongly aromatic (lemon-scented; rhizomatous).
Stems

gray-green, glabrate.

relatively many, erect, green, simple, glabrous.
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, green;

blades broadly lanceolate to narrowly elliptic, 1.5–11 × 1–1.5 cm, 2-pinnately lobed, (ultimate lobes toothed), faces white-tomentose (abaxial) or glabrous (adaxial), yellow-gland-dotted.
Involucres

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

campanulate, 3(–4) × 2–5.5 mm.
Florets

pistillate 6–13;

bisexual 15–30;

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

pistillate 9–12;

bisexual 15–35;

corollas yellow, 1–1.5 mm, glandular.
Phyllaries

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

(yellow-green, rarely purplish) broadly ovate, glabrous or sparsely hairy, yellow-gland-dotted.
Heads

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

(erect to nodding, peduncles 0 or to 10 mm) in paniculiform to spiciform arrays 8–15 × 1–1.5 cm.
Cypselae

0.8–1 mm, glabrous.

(yellow to light brown) ellipsoid, ca. 0.5 mm, glabrous or glandular.
2n

= 18.

= 18, 36.

Artemisia scopulorum

Artemisia michauxiana
Phenology Flowering mid–late summer. Flowering mid summer–early fall.
Habitat Alpine meadows, protected areas, bases of rocks Talus slopes, alpine and subalpine drainages
Elevation 3100–4200 m (10200–13800 ft) 1900–3700 m (6200–12100 ft)
Distribution
from FNA
CO; MT; NM; NV; UT; WY
[WildflowerSearch map]
[BONAP county map]
from FNA
CA; CO; ID; MT; NV; OR; UT; WA; WY; AB; BC; YT
[WildflowerSearch map]
[BONAP county map]
Discussion

Members of the Artemisia ludoviciana complex with deeply lobed leaves are sometimes confused with A. michauxiana, and there is evidence that plants hybridize in some locations. Artemisia michauxiana is distinguished by its glabrous, bright green to yellow-green foliage and lemony-sweet fragrance.

(Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.)
Source FNA vol. 19, p. 520. FNA vol. 19, p. 530.
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. 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. 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. discolor, A. vulgaris subsp. michauxiana
Name authority A. Gray: Proc. Acad. Nat. Sci. Philadelphia 15: 66. (1863) Besser: in W. J. Hooker, Fl. Bor.-Amer. 1: 324. (1833)
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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