Artemisia vulgaris |
Artemisia suksdorfii |
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armoise vulgaire, common mugwort, common wormwood, felon-herb, green-ginger, lobed wormwood, mugwort |
coastal mugwort, coastal wormwood, Suksdorf sagewort, Suksdorf's mugwort, Suksdorf's sagewort, Suksdorf's wormwood |
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Habit | Perennials, (40–)60–190 cm, sometimes faintly aromatic (rhizomes coarse). | Perennials, 50–170(–200) cm, aromatic (rhizomes woody, coarse). |
Stems | relatively numerous, erect, brownish to reddish brown, simple proximally, branched distally (angularly ribbed), sparsely hairy or glabrous. |
usually 10+, erect, light brown, simple, usually glabrous. |
Leaves | basal (petiolate) and cauline (sessile), uniformly green or bicolor; blades broadly lanceolate, ovate, or linear, (2–)3–10(–12) × 1.8–8 cm (proximal reduced and entire, distal pinnately dissected, lobes to 20 mm wide), faces pubescent or glabrescent (abaxial) or glabrous (adaxial). |
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 | ovoid to campanulate, 2–3(–4) mm. |
narrowly turbinate or globose, 1.5–2.5 × 1–1.5 mm. |
Florets | pistillate 7–10; bisexual (5–)8–20; corollas yellowish to reddish brown, 1.5–3 mm, glabrous (style branches arched-curved, truncate, ciliate). |
pistillate 2–5; bisexual 2–7; corollas yellow, 1.5–3 mm, glabrous. |
Phyllaries | lanceolate, hairy or glabrescent. |
(straw-colored to yellow-green, shiny) lanceolate, glabrous or sparsely hairy. |
Heads | in compact, paniculiform or racemiform arrays (10–)20–30(–40) × (5–)7–15(–20) cm. |
(erect) in crowded (proximally leafy), paniculiform or racemiform arrays 17–30 × (2–)4–5 cm (lateral branches stiff, erect). |
Cypselae | ellipsoid, 0.5–1(–1.2) mm, glabrous, sometimes resinous. |
ellipsoid, 0.8–1.5 mm, glabrous. |
2n | = 18, 36, 40, 54. |
= 18. |
Artemisia vulgaris |
Artemisia suksdorfii |
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Phenology | Flowering mid summer–late fall. | Flowering mid summer–fall. |
Habitat | Sandy or loamy soils, forested areas, coastal strands, roadsides | Coastal habitats, often along roads or drainages |
Elevation | 0–500 m (0–1600 ft) | 0–200 m (0–700 ft) |
Distribution |
AK; AL; CT; DC; DE; FL; GA; IA; ID; IL; IN; KS; KY; LA; MA; MD; ME; MI; MN; MO; MT; NC; NH; NJ; NY; OH; OR; PA; RI; SC; TN; VA; VT; WA; WI; WV; AB; BC; MB; NB; NF; NS; ON; PE; QC; SK; Greenland; Eurasia [Introduced in North America]
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CA; OR; WA; BC
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Discussion | Grown as a medicinal plant, most commonly as a vermifuge, Artemisia vulgaris is widely established in eastern North America and is often weedy in disturbed sites. Populational differences in morphologic forms are reflected in size of flowering heads, degree of dissection of leaves, and overall color of plants (from pale to dark green), suggesting multiple introductions that may date back to the first visits by Europeans. It is tempting to recognize the different forms as subspecies and varieties; the array of variation in the field is bewildering. If genetically distinct forms exist in native populations, the differences appear to have been blurred by introgression among the various introductions in North America. A case could be made for recognizing var. kamtschatica in Alaska based on its larger heads and shorter growth form; apparent introgression with populations that extend across Canada confounds that taxonomic segregation. (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. 533. | FNA vol. 19, p. 533. |
Parent taxa | Asteraceae > tribe Anthemideae > Artemisia > subg. Artemisia | Asteraceae > tribe Anthemideae > Artemisia > subg. Artemisia |
Sibling taxa | ||
Synonyms | A. opulenta, A. vulgaris var. glabra, A. vulgaris var. kamtschatica | A. heterophylla, A. vulgaris var. littoralis |
Name authority | Linnaeus: Sp. Pl. 2: 848. (1753) | Piper: Bull. Torrey Bot. Club 28: 42. (1901) |
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