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.  Few other botanists accept this distinction and they call all the plants, "Artemisia".

     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.

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

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

A close look at Artemisia nova 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. Artemisia nova is commonly mistaken for a small Artemisia tridentata (shown below) but Artemisia nova never reaches the height and width of Artemisia tridentata.

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". 

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

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

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

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

Artemisia nova 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.

Artemisia tridentata.  Synonym: Seriphidium tridentatum. (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.  Artemisia tridentata 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".

Artemisia tridentata.  Synonym: Seriphidium tridentatum. (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.

Artemisia tridentata.  Synonym: Seriphidium tridentatum. (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.

Artemisia tridentata.  Synonym: Seriphidium tridentatum. (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.

Range map © John Kartesz,
Floristic Synthesis of North America

State Color Key

Species present in state and native
Species present in state and exotic
Species not present in state

County Color Key

Species present and not rare
Species present and rare
Species extirpated (historic)
Species extinct
Species noxious
Species exotic and present
Native species, but adventive in state
Eradicated
Questionable presence

Range map for Artemisia nova

Range map for Artemisia tridentatum