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Fringed Sagebrush
Artemisia frigida Willd.
Asteraceae (Sunflower Family)
▲ Seedlings
▲▼new growth arising from older plant in spring
▲▼pre-flowering growth
▲▼pre-flowering growth
▲▼ flowering plants
Artemisia frigida
Willd., Fringed Sagebrush:
(Bayer
Code:
ARTFR; US Code ARFR2)
·
Native, clump-forming perennial that grows 8-18 inches tall
·
Has whitish-hairy, triangular or fan-shaped leaves that a deeply lobed
·
Leaves have a sage-like or medicinal odor if crushed or bruised
·
Produces deep taproots, plus fibrous roots near the surface in higher moisture
environments
·
Inflorescences whitish, in axils of leaves on upper stems
·
Pollen can be allergenic, similar to ragweed
·
Found in dry, infertile sites on prairies, rangeland; more common in dryer and
colder parts of Midwest
·
Tends to increase in overgrazed areas due to low
palatability
·
Characteristics to allow distinguishing from similar native species:
o
Sand sagebrush (A.
filifolia) has 3-lobed leaves with linear lobes and linear leaves in upper
portions of the plant
o
Big sagebrush (A.
tridentata )has slightly wider leaves with three short teeth at their
leaftips
o
Sand sagebrush (A.
cana) has slightly wider, generally unlobed or shallowly lobed leaves
throughout plant and is more common further north or at higher elevations
o
Louisiana wormwood
(A. ludoviciana) is more common
in the central Midwest and has linear lanceolate leaves that are unlobed or with
a few shallow but wide (not linear) lobes
Native sagebrush/wormwood (Artemisia) species can provide valuable foot and
habitat for many wildlife species, and so should not always be considered a weed
in the sense that they should be controlled or eradicated.
Proper range management often
allows for native species to continue as well as provide adequate grazing for
domestic animals.
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Updated 19 January 2019