Foothills, montane. Rocky outcrops and meadows, roadsides. Summer.
Horse Creek Trail, August  31, 2005.

The impression one has of this plant as one approaches it is of a bushy clump of strong, green, vertical stems with contrasting, lighter colored, tiny spheres dotting the upper third of the plant.  It is easy to spot from many feet down the trail.  Wild Tarragon is quite common in open meadows and along roadsides.  Leaves have a mild Tarragon scent.

The plant was first collected in Siberia and was named Artemisia dracunculus by Linnaeus who also named the genus in 1753.  It was renamed Artemisia glauca in 1831.  The genus name "Oligosporus" (from the Greek for "few spores") was given by Cassini in 1847.   In 1981 it was given the name that Weber accepts: Oligosporus dracunculus subspecies glauca.  From Latin we get "Drac" for "dragon" and "unculus" for "little".

Foothills, montane. Rocky outcrops and meadows, roadsides. Summer.
Horse Creek Trail, August  31, 2005.

The tiny spherical dots are the flowers or seeds.  The rose/purple behind the ruler are the flowers of Erigeron speciosus.

Foothills, montane. Rocky outcrops and meadows, roadsides. Summer.
Horse Creek Trail, June 27, 2006.

Leaves are long, narrow, and alternate and flowers emerge in tight clusters from the junction of the leaves with the main stem. 

Foothills, montane. Rocky outcrops and meadows, roadsides. Summer.
Wildcat Trail, August  28, 2007.