Artemisia tridentata
big sagebrush
Family AsteraceaeAlso called Great Basin sagebrush, sagebrush
About
Big sagebrush is the aromatic grey shrub that dominates vast areas of the Great Basin and the Intermountain West, supporting wildlife such as sage-grouse and pronghorn.
Care at a glance
- Pet safety
- Not recorded. We have no source on whether this plant is safe for cats, dogs or other pets — that is not the same as safe. Keep it out of reach until you have checked.
- People
- Not recorded.
- Soil
- Deep, basic soils favour the largest plants.
- Mature size
- 0.5–3 m tall.
Field notes
Morphology
Coarse, much-branched pale grey shrub 0.5–3 m tall with silvery foliage and yellow flowers. A taproot 1–4 m deep plus shallow lateral roots taps both rain and groundwater. Strongly pungent, especially when wet, from camphor and other volatile oils; can live over 100 years.
Distribution & habitat
Arid and semi-arid steppe, cold desert and mountains of the Intermountain West, across about 1.09 million km² in 11 western US states and Canadian provinces, in areas with 18–40 cm of annual precipitation.
Ecology
Provides food and shelter for sage-grouse, pronghorn, gray vireo, pygmy rabbit and mule deer, especially in winter, and shades and shelters grasses and herbs. Threatened by settlement, farmland conversion, invasive plants and wildfire.
History & etymology
The Cahuilla ground its seeds into flour, and it has been used medicinally by Native Americans. Today it is mainly used as firewood; its oily wood burns readily. Subspecies classification remains disputed.
Conservation
Assessed as Least Concern, though sagebrush ecosystems face several major threats.
Habitat
- Altitude
- Not recorded
- Altitude class
- —
- Native to
- United States, Canada
- IUCN status
- Least concern
Cultivation
- Difficulty
- Not recorded
Text adapted from Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0.
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