William Weber indicates that "chemically and morphologically"  Artemisia and Seriphidium are "distinct".  In his botanical key he separates them on the basis of ray flowers: Artemisia has small ray flowers; Seriphidium has no ray flowers.

Artemis was Apollo's twin sister and daughter of Zeus and Leto; she was the equivalent of the Greek Diana, goddess of the moon, the woods, and the wild, who, the legend states, derived so much good from plants of this kind that all such plants are named for her.  Intermountain Flora presents another etymology: the genus is named for Artemisia, historical Queen of Caria (in present day Turkey) who was a "noted botanist, medical researcher, and scholar".  She was named for the Greek god.

"Seriphos" is Greek for "wormwood", the common name often applied to a number of Sage plants.

See  Artemisia shrubs.

Synonym: Seriphidium novum.  Artemisia nova.  (Black Sagebrush)
Asteraceae (Sunflower Family)

Foothills, montane. Shrublands. Fall.
Navajo Reservation above Teec Nos POs, Arizona, June 24, 2006.

A close look at Seriphidium novum shows it to be yellow-green, but as the second picture below shows, from a distance the plant has a definite black cast to it.  The plant grows in tight rounded clumps with numerous flower or seed stalks projecting from the top.  Seriphidium novum is commonly mistaken for a small Seriphidium tridentatum (shown below) but S. novum never reaches the height and width of S. tridentatum.

Aven Nelson collected this plant in the late 1800s in Medicine Bow, Wyoming and named it Artemisia nova in 1900.  William Weber considers this, the common Sagebrush (see below), and several other species not to be true Artemisias and has placed them in the genus Seriphidium.  Latin gives us the specific epithet "nova" or "novum", for "new". 

Synonym: Seriphidium novum.  Artemisia nova.  (Black Sagebrush)
Asteraceae (Sunflower Family)

Foothills, montane. Shrublands. Fall.
Navajo Reservation above Teec Nos POs, Arizona, June 24, 2006.

Synonym: Seriphidium novum.  Artemisia nova.  (Black Sagebrush)
Asteraceae (Sunflower Family)

Foothills, montane. Shrublands. Fall.
Navajo Reservation above Teec Nos POs, Arizona, June 24, 2006.

Seriphidium novum likes thin, rocky soils in the foothills and mountains to about 7,800 feet.  It often occurs in great numbers, as the picture at left shows; this growth pattern is quite reminiscent of the widespread patches of Coleogyne ramosissima that dominate nearby Canyon Country.

Synonym: Seriphidium tridentatum.  Artemisia tridentata.  (Sagebrush)
Asteraceae (Sunflower Family)

Semi-desert, foothills, montane. Shrublands. Fall.
Road into Canyonlands National Park, Utah, May 19, 2004.

Sagebrush is the most famous of all Western plants; it is "The West".  It dominates vast areas of the foothills, low canyons, and high deserts providing shelter for numerous animals and for flora, such as the red Paintbrush shown at left, that prefer shade and parasitize the roots of Sagebrush.  Seriphidium tridentatum grows to 9 feet tall and 6 feet wide in a raggedy pattern of fallen limbs, dead branches, and lovely blue-green leaves topped by tight clusters of numerous flowers in the fall or thin, dead seed stalks the rest of the year.

Just brush against Sagebrush and you will release a magnificent redolence calling up all the allure of the West.  A walk through Sagebrush country leaves one's clothes smelling of big spaces and clear skies.  Summer rains striking Sagebrush fill the air with unforgettably pleasant sweetness.

Thomas Nuttall collected the first specimen of this plant for science in present-day Oregon on his trip with the Wyeth Expedition of 1834-1837 and in 1841 he named the plant Artemisia tridentata.  William Weber renamed the plant Seriphidium tridentatum in 1984.  "Seriphidium" is from the Greek for "wormwood".

Synonym: Seriphidium tridentatum.  Artemisia tridentata.  (Sagebrush)
Asteraceae (Sunflower Family)

Semi-desert, foothills, montane. Shrublands. Fall.
Negro Bill Canyon, Utah, April 13, 2005.

Leaves appear "sage-green" because they are covered with a myriad of fine, white hairs.  Nuttall gave the specific epithet, "tridentatum", because of the very prominent three indentations at the tip of the leaves.

Synonym: Seriphidium tridentatum.  Artemisia tridentata.  (Sagebrush)
Asteraceae (Sunflower Family)

Semi-desert, foothills, montane. Shrublands. Fall.
Near Yellow Jacket Canyon, September 20, 2005.

In September, Sagebrush has numerous ten inch long stalks of tiny yellow flowers near the end of its leafy branches.  These flowers provide forage for bees but also, unfortunately, provide pollen that causes some folks to sneeze and weep.

Synonym: Seriphidium tridentatum.  Artemisia tridentata.  (Sagebrush)
Asteraceae (Sunflower Family)

Semi-desert, foothills, montane. Shrublands. Fall.
Near Yellow Jacket Canyon, January 8, 2008.

This is the same Sagebrush plant as above; now the visitors are Juncos nibbling seeds in the snow, not bees seeking sweetness in the fall.