Louisiana Wormwood, White Sage, Prairie Sage
Artemisia ludoviciana Nutt.
Asteraceae (Sunflower Family)
▲▼ young shoots emerging from creeping roots in spring
▲▼ young shoots emerging from creeping roots in spring
▲▼ young shoots emerging from creeping roots in spring
▲▼ young shoots emerging from creeping roots in spring, showing how some plants are more green than gray/white
▲▼ young shoots
▲▼ young shoots
▲▼ young shoots
▲▼flowering shoots
Artemisia
ludoviciana
Nutt., Louisiana
Wormwood, Prairie Sage, White Sage: (Bayer
Code:
ARTLU; US Code ARLU)
·
Creeping perennial
native plant with whitish-hairy leaves of varying shapes—smooth margins,
lobed margins, toothed margins
·
Leaves have strong,
sage-like odor
·
Produces creeping
roots that can create large colonies over time
·
Inflorescences is
leafy stalk with tiny, ragweed-like flowers (can cause allergies)
·
Found in dry sites,
native prairies and glades, no-till crops
·
Can be toxic to
livestock if grazed heavily—normally not a problem
·
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
Silver sagebrush (A. cana) has
slightly wider, unlobed leaves throughout plant and is more common further
north or at higher elevations
o
Fringed sagebrush (A. frigida)
does not produce persistent woody stems as do the other sagebrush mentioned,
and its leaves are smaller (less than 1 inch diameter) and very much divided
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.