Artemisia scopulorum (Sagewort)
Asteraceae (Sunflower Family)

Alpine, subalpine. Tundra, scree. Summer, fall.
Madden Peak, June 23, 2004.

Sagewort is very common in high meadows and alpine areas, but it is such a slim, small plant that it is very easily passed by.  Its leaves are mostly basal, finely cut, sage green, and very pleasantly sage smelling.  Flowers are brown/red/yellow, and tiny.  The entire plant has a most exotic, even science-fiction-alien appearance.  See Prairie Smoke for another alien. 

When my wife and I first discovered Sagewort on a steep alpine hillside that we had struggled to get to, we thought it was a rare find.  But once we identified it, we found it to be so abundant that we shook our heads in disbelief at having not noticed it before.  You, too,  will find it to be a very common plant near and above timber-line.

See Artemisia ludoviciana for the derivation of the genus name.  "Scopulorum" is Latin for "of rocky places".

The first specimen of this plant was collected by Hall and Harbour, led by Charles Parry, in 1862 in Colorado and was named by Asa Gray in 1863. (More biographical information.)

Artemisia scopulorum (Sagewort)
Asteraceae (Sunflower Family)

Alpine, subalpine. Tundra, scree. Summer, fall.
Madden Peak, June 23, 2004.

A closer look at the flower head shows mixtures of yellow and brown in the flowers and black in the bracts.

Artemisia scopulorum (Sagewort)
Asteraceae (Sunflower Family)

Alpine, subalpine. Tundra, scree. Summer, fall.
Horse Creek Trail, August 31, 2005.

An even closer look as the flower develops shows numerous stamens with curled yellow anther tips.  To see this detail on your hikes, carry a small hand lens.