Artemisia tridentata

Big sagebrush

Family: Asteraceae · Type: shrub · Native

Big sagebrush is a California native shrub found in various western mountain ranges, desert, and interior regions in dry, open habitats at elevations ranging from low to mid-elevation zones. Flowering from August to October, this plant produces small yellow to greenish flowers in tiny discoid heads approximately 1 to 3 millimeters in diameter. Growing up to 3 meters tall with a thick trunk and gray-green branches, it develops a distinctively dense and compact form with multiple stems. Its leaves are wedge-shaped, generally 1 to 3 centimeters long, often with 3 teeth or lobes at the tip, and covered in dense gray hairs that give the plant a soft, silvery appearance. The shrub produces small fruits 1 to 2 millimeters long, which are typically glandular or hairy.

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