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Synonym:
Seriphidium novum. Artemisia
nova. (Black Sagebrush) Foothills,
montane. Shrublands. Fall. 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. 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". |
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Synonym:
Seriphidium novum. Artemisia nova. (Black
Sagebrush) Foothills,
montane. Shrublands. Fall. |
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Synonym:
Seriphidium novum. Artemisia nova. (Black
Sagebrush) Foothills,
montane. Shrublands. Fall. 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. |
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Synonym:
Seriphidium
tridentatum.
Artemisia tridentata. (Sagebrush) Semi-desert, foothills,
montane. Shrublands. Fall. 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 Paintbrush, that prefer shade. Sagebrush 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". |
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Synonym:
Seriphidium
tridentatum.
Artemisia tridentata. (Sagebrush) Semi-desert, foothills,
montane. Shrublands. Fall. |
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Synonym:
Seriphidium
tridentatum.
Artemisia tridentata. (Sagebrush) Semi-desert, foothills,
montane. Shrublands. Fall. In September, Sagebrush has numerous ten inch long stalks of tiny yellow flowers near the end of its leafy branches. Unfortunately the pollens of Sagebrush flowers also provide food for allergic rhinitis: they cause many people to sneeze and weep. |
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Synonym:
Seriphidium
tridentatum.
Artemisia tridentata. (Sagebrush) Semi-desert, foothills,
montane. Shrublands. Fall. 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.
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