''Artemisia filifolia'', known by

common name In biology, a common name of a taxon or organism (also known as a vernacular name, English name, colloquial name, country name, popular name, or farmer's name) is a name that is based on the normal language of everyday life; and is often contrast ...

s including sand sagebrush, sand sage and sandhill sage, is a

species In biology, a species is the basic unit of classification and a taxonomic rank of an organism, as well as a unit of biodiversity. A species is often defined as the largest group of organisms in which any two individuals of the appropriate s ...

of flowering plant in the aster family.Flora of North America Vol. 19, 20 and 21 Page 508 Sand sage ''Artemisia filifolia'' Torrey, Ann. Lyceum Nat. Hist. New York. 2: 211. 1827.
/ref> It is native to

North America North America is a continent in the Northern Hemisphere and almost entirely within the Western Hemisphere. It is bordered to the north by the Arctic Ocean, to the east by the Atlantic Ocean, to the southeast by South America and the Car ...

, where it occurs from

Nevada Nevada ( ; ) is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, Western region of the United States. It is bordered by Oregon to the northwest, Idaho to the northeast, California to the west, Arizona to the southeast, and Utah to the east. N ...

east to

South Dakota South Dakota (; Sioux language, Sioux: , ) is a U.S. state in the West North Central states, North Central region of the United States. It is also part of the Great Plains. South Dakota is named after the Lakota people, Lakota and Dakota peo ...

and from there south to

Arizona Arizona ( ; nv, Hoozdo Hahoodzo ; ood, Alĭ ṣonak ) is a state in the Southwestern United States. It is the 6th largest and the 14th most populous of the 50 states. Its capital and largest city is Phoenix. Arizona is part of the Fou ...

, Chihuahua, and

Texas Texas (, ; Spanish language, Spanish: ''Texas'', ''Tejas'') is a state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. At 268,596 square miles (695,662 km2), and with more than 29.1 million residents in 2 ...

.McWilliams, Jack (2003)
''Artemisia filifolia''.
In: Fire Effects Information System, nline U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Rocky Mountain Research Station, Fire Sciences Laboratory. Retrieved 12-26-2011.Turner, B. L. 1996. The Comps of Mexico: A systematic account of the family Asteraceae, vol. 6. Tageteae and Athemideae. Phytologia Memoirs 10: i–ii, 1–22, 43–93.

Description

''Artemisia filifolia'' is a branching woody

shrub A shrub (often also called a bush) is a small-to-medium-sized perennial woody plant. Unlike herbaceous plants, shrubs have persistent woody stems above the ground. Shrubs can be either deciduous or evergreen. They are distinguished from trees ...

growing up to tall. The stems are covered narrow, threadlike leaves up to long and no more than half a millimeter wide. The leaves are sometimes split into segments. They are solitary or arranged in

fascicle Fascicle or ''fasciculus'' may refer to: Anatomy and histology * Muscle fascicle, a bundle of skeletal muscle fibers * Nerve fascicle, a bundle of axons (nerve fibers) ** Superior longitudinal fasciculus *** Arcuate fasciculus ** Gracile fas ...

s. The

inflorescence An inflorescence is a group or cluster of flowers arranged on a stem that is composed of a main branch or a complicated arrangement of branches. Morphologically, it is the modified part of the shoot of seed plants where flowers are formed o ...

is a

panicle A panicle is a much-branched inflorescence. (softcover ). Some authors distinguish it from a compound spike inflorescence, by requiring that the flowers (and fruit) be pedicellate (having a single stem per flower). The branches of a panicle are of ...

of hanging flower heads. Each head contains sterile disc florets and 2 to 3 fertile ray florets. The fruit is a tiny

achene An achene (; ), also sometimes called akene and occasionally achenium or achenocarp, is a type of simple dry fruit produced by many species of flowering plants. Achenes are monocarpellate (formed from one carpel) and indehiscent (they do not ope ...

. The achenes do not tend to disperse far from the parent plant.

Ecology

''Artemisia filifolia'' is a dominant species across much of the west-central United States, particularly in areas where the substrate is a deep, sandy soil. It is an

indicator Indicator may refer to: Biology * Environmental indicator of environmental health (pressures, conditions and responses) * Ecological indicator of ecosystem health (ecological processes) * Health indicator, which is used to describe the health ...

of sandy soils. It is efficient for preventing erosion on such soils.Sand Sagebrush.
Range Plants of Utah. Utah State University. Retrieved 12-26-2011. It is common in parts of the

Great Plains The Great Plains (french: Grandes Plaines), sometimes simply "the Plains", is a broad expanse of flatland in North America. It is located west of the Mississippi River and east of the Rocky Mountains, much of it covered in prairie, steppe, an ...

, where it is a dominant component of

prairie Prairies are ecosystems considered part of the temperate grasslands, savannas, and shrublands biome by ecologists, based on similar temperate climates, moderate rainfall, and a composition of grasses, herbs, and shrubs, rather than trees, as the ...

grassland A grassland is an area where the vegetation is dominated by grasses (Poaceae). However, sedge (Cyperaceae) and rush (Juncaceae) can also be found along with variable proportions of legumes, like clover, and other herbs. Grasslands occur natur ...

, and

shrubland Shrubland, scrubland, scrub, brush, or bush is a plant community characterized by vegetation dominated by shrubs, often also including grasses, herbs, and geophytes. Shrubland may either occur naturally or be the result of human activity. It m ...

ecosystems alongside

grass Poaceae () or Gramineae () is a large and nearly ubiquitous family of monocotyledonous flowering plants commonly known as grasses. It includes the cereal grasses, bamboos and the grasses of natural grassland and species cultivated in lawns an ...

es such as sand bluestem, grama grasses, sand reedgrass,

little bluestem ''Schizachyrium scoparium'', commonly known as little bluestem or beard grass, is a species of North American prairie grass native to most of the contiguous United States (except California, Nevada, and Oregon) as well as a small area north of t ...

, and sand dropseed.Western Great Plains Sandhill Shrubland.
Ecosystems. Colorado State. Retrieved 12-26-2011. Some regions dominated by this sagebrush include the occurrences of the sandsage prairie from Nebraska to central

, various river systems in eastern

Colorado Colorado (, other variants) is a state in the Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. It encompasses most of the Southern Rocky Mountains, as well as the northeastern portion of the Colorado Plateau and the western edge of t ...

and

Kansas Kansas () is a state in the Midwestern United States. Its capital is Topeka, and its largest city is Wichita. Kansas is a landlocked state bordered by Nebraska to the north; Missouri to the east; Oklahoma to the south; and Colorado to the ...

, the

sandhill A sandhill is a type of ecological community or xeric wildfire-maintained ecosystem. It is not the same as a sand dune. It features very short fire return intervals, one to five years. Without fire, sandhills undergo ecological succession and bec ...

s and mixed-grass prairies of Colorado, and parts of southeastern

Wyoming Wyoming () is a U.S. state, state in the Mountain states, Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. It is bordered by Montana to the north and northwest, South Dakota and Nebraska to the east, Idaho to the west, Utah to the south ...

. In Texas, it is common in the

Trans-Pecos The Trans-Pecos, as originally defined in 1887 by the Texas geologist Robert T. Hill, is the portion of Texas that lies west of the Pecos River. The term is considered synonymous with Far West Texas, a subdivision of West Texas. The Trans-Peco ...

region, where it grows with

honey mesquite ''Prosopis glandulosa'', commonly known as honey mesquite, is a species of small to medium-sized, thorny shrub or tree in the legume family (Fabaceae). Distribution The plant is primarily native to the Southwestern United States and Northern M ...

, and many other areas in the state where it grows with sand shinnery oak. This ecosystem is most commonly affected by

fire Fire is the rapid oxidation of a material (the fuel) in the exothermic chemical process of combustion, releasing heat, light, and various reaction Product (chemistry), products. At a certain point in the combustion reaction, called the ignition ...

and

grazing In agriculture, grazing is a method of animal husbandry whereby domestic livestock are allowed outdoors to roam around and consume wild vegetations in order to convert the otherwise indigestible (by human gut) cellulose within grass and other ...

. Before modern fire suppression, the ecosystem was maintained by a pattern of disturbance caused by natural wildfire and grazing by bison, a pattern which is called '' pyric herbivory''.

Rangeland impact

When humans began to use this terrain as

rangeland Rangelands are grasslands, shrublands, woodlands, wetlands, and deserts that are grazed by domestic livestock or wild animals. Types of rangelands include tallgrass and shortgrass prairies, desert grasslands and shrublands, woodlands, savannas ...

, this system was altered, causing a

homogenization Homogeneity is a sameness of constituent structure. Homogeneity, homogeneous, or homogenization may also refer to: In mathematics *Transcendental law of homogeneity of Leibniz * Homogeneous space for a Lie group G, or more general transformati ...

of life forms in the habitat.Doxon, E. D., et al. (2011)
Aboveground macroinvertebrate diversity and abundance in sand sagebrush prairie managed with the use of pyric herbivory.
''Rangeland Ecol Manage.'' 64 394-403. Retrieved 12-26-2011. A balanced regime of fire and grazing is required to sustain the

biodiversity Biodiversity or biological diversity is the variety and variability of life on Earth. Biodiversity is a measure of variation at the genetic (''genetic variability''), species (''species diversity''), and ecosystem (''ecosystem diversity'') l ...

of this type of rangeland.Winter, S. L., et al. (2011)
Restoration of the fire–grazing interaction in ''Artemisia filifolia'' shrubland.
''Journal of Applied Ecology.'' Online preview. Retrieved 12-26-2011. Fire also helps prevent the succession of woody vegetation onto shrublands. The sagebrush is tolerant of fire, resprouting vigorously after its aboveground parts are burned away.Vermeire, L. T., et al
Sand sagebrush response to fall and spring prescribed burning.
In: McArthur, E. Durant, et al. comps. (2001). Shrubland ecosystem genetics and biodiversity: proceedings; 2000 June 13–15; Provo, UT. Proc. RMRS-P-21. Ogden, UT: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Rocky Mountain Research Station. Retrieved 12-26-2011.

Ecosystem

Sand sagebrush ecosystems are important habitat types for many animals. Prairie dogs build towns in sandy sage grassland, and when they abandon them,

burrowing owl The burrowing owl (''Athene cunicularia''), also called the shoco, is a small, long-legged owl found throughout open landscapes of North and South America. Burrowing owls can be found in grasslands, rangelands, agricultural areas, deserts, or an ...

s move in.

Sage grouse Sage-grouse are grouse belonging to the bird genus ''Centrocercus.'' The genus includes two species: the Gunnison grouse (''Centrocercus minimus'') and the greater sage-grouse (''Centrocercus urophasianus''). These birds are distributed throug ...

live in sand sagebrush, though they prefer big sagebrush. Some animals eat the seeds, such as

lesser prairie chicken The lesser prairie chicken (''Tympanuchus pallidicinctus'') is a species in the grouse family. Description It is a medium to large bird, striped white and brown, slightly smaller and paler than its near relative the greater prairie chicken (''T. ...

s and

scaled quail The scaled quail (''Callipepla squamata''), also commonly called blue quail or cottontop, is a species of the New World quail family. It is a bluish gray bird found in the arid regions of the Southwestern United States to Central Mexico. This sp ...

. Lesser prairie chickens also use it for cover and nesting purposes. Extensive removal of sand sagebrush has been shown to reduce the diversity and abundance of breeding birds in the habitat.Rodgers, R. D. and M. L. Sexson. (1990)
Impacts of extensive chemical control of sand sagebrush on breeding birds.
''Journal of Soil and Water Conservation.'' 45(4) 494-97. Retrieved 12-26-2011. Despite its importance in numerous ecosystems, this sagebrush can become a troublesome

weed A weed is a plant considered undesirable in a particular situation, "a plant in the wrong place", or a plant growing where it is not wanted.Harlan, J. R., & deWet, J. M. (1965). Some thoughts about weeds. ''Economic botany'', ''19''(1), 16-24. ...

.Wilson, R. G. (1989)
Sand sagebrush (''Artemisia filifolia'') and brittle pricklypear (''Opuntia fragilis'') control.
''Weed Technology'' 3(2) 272-74. Retrieved 12-26-2011. One method of control is burning, then placing livestock where they will graze the new sprouts as they come up. It is also controlled with

herbicide Herbicides (, ), also commonly known as weedkillers, are substances used to control undesired plants, also known as weeds.EPA. February 201Pesticides Industry. Sales and Usage 2006 and 2007: Market Estimates. Summary in press releasMain page fo ...

s and

mowing A mower is a person or machine that cuts (mows) grass or other plants that grow on the ground. Usually mowing is distinguished from reaping, which uses similar implements, but is the traditional term for harvesting grain crops, e.g. with reape ...

Commercial use

Sand sagebrush seed is sold commercially. It is sometimes used for

revegetation Revegetation is the process of replanting and rebuilding the soil of disturbed land. This may be a natural process produced by plant colonization and succession, manmade rewilding projects, accelerated process designed to repair damage to a lan ...

efforts on rangeland and

coal Coal is a combustible black or brownish-black sedimentary rock, formed as rock strata called coal seams. Coal is mostly carbon with variable amounts of other elements, chiefly hydrogen, sulfur, oxygen, and nitrogen. Coal is formed when dea ...

fields. The

Navajo The Navajo (; British English: Navaho; nv, Diné or ') are a Native American people of the Southwestern United States. With more than 399,494 enrolled tribal members , the Navajo Nation is the largest federally recognized tribe in the United ...

had several uses for the plant. It was used medicinally and for ritual purposes. Being quite soft, it was used as

toilet paper Toilet paper (sometimes called toilet tissue or bathroom tissue) is a tissue paper product primarily used to clean the anus and surrounding anal region of feces after defecation, and to clean the perineal area and external genitalia of u ...

.''Artemisia filifolia''.
University of Michigan Ethnobotany. Retrieved 12-26-2011.

References

External links

Medicinal Plants of the SouthwestUtah State University, Range Plants of Utah
* ttps://web.archive.org/web/20150923190415/http://www.biosurvey.ou.edu/shrub/arfi2.htm Oklahoma Biological Survey {{Taxonbar, from=Q582243 filifolia Plants described in 1828 Plants used in traditional Native American medicine Flora of North America