Artemisia nova

Black sagebrush

Family: Asteraceae · Type: shrub · Native

Black sagebrush is a California native shrub found in the Great Basin, eastern Sierra Nevada Mountains, Desert Mountains, and San Jacinto Mountains in shallow rocky soils at elevations below 2,300 meters. Flowering from September to November, this plant produces small heads of flowers approximately 1 to 2 millimeters in diameter with straw-colored, shiny-resinous phyllaries. Growing as a compact shrub 10 to 30 centimeters tall with a loose, branching structure from a short trunk, it remains evergreen with a grayish-white (canescent) appearance that becomes somewhat smooth with age. Its leaves are distinctive, wedge-shaped and typically 5 to 20 millimeters long, with three teeth at the tip and entire margins on flowering stems. The plant produces tiny fruits about 1 millimeter long, which are ribbed and may be dotted with resin glands.

Habitat: Shallow rocky soils in desert valleys, dry slopes

Bloom period: Sep-Nov

Elevation: < 2300 m

Bioregions: CaRH, SnJt, GB, DMtns

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