Artemisia bigelovii

Bigelow sagewort

Family: Asteraceae · Type: shrub · Native

Bigelow sagewort is a California native shrub found in the White and Inyo Mountains and Desert Mountains on sandy, often limestone soils at elevations of 1,300 to 1,900 meters. Flowering from August to October, this plant produces small nodding flower heads approximately 2 to 2.5 millimeters in diameter, with delicate silvery-gray coloration. Growing as a rounded subshrub 40 to 60 centimeters tall, it develops many slender, curved stems that branch from the base and are densely covered in silvery-canescent hairs. Its leaves are narrow and linear, 0.5 to 3 centimeters long, with entire margins or occasionally sharp three-toothed tips, densely covered in fine hairs. The plant forms tight, panicle-like clusters of small, intricate flower heads with ovate phyllaries that have narrowly scarious margins.

Habitat: Sandy, often limestone soils

Bloom period: Aug-Oct

Elevation: 1300-1900 m

Bioregions: W&ampI, DMtns

Data from The California Species Project — 14,000+ California species with verified data from CNPS, CDFW, USFWS, Jepson eFlora, Cal-IPC, and more.