''Artemisia pycnocephala'' is a North American species of
sagebrush in the
sunflower family, known by the common names beach wormwood, sandhill sage, and coastal sagewort.
[
This plant is native to the western ]United States
The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...
coastline extending from central Oregon
Oregon () is a U.S. state, state in the Pacific Northwest region of the Western United States. The Columbia River delineates much of Oregon's northern boundary with Washington (state), Washington, while the Snake River delineates much of it ...
to southern California
California is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, located along the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the List of states and territori ...
.
Description
It is a leafy perennial wormwood forming clumps about 50 cm (20 inches) in height. It extends erect stems covered in dense foliage which ranges in color from light green to nearly white. The fuzzy 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 ...
s are studded with small lobular leaves and rounded yellowish flower buds. The plant is aromatic
In chemistry, aromaticity is a chemical property of cyclic ( ring-shaped), ''typically'' planar (flat) molecular structures with pi bonds in resonance (those containing delocalized electrons) that gives increased stability compared to satur ...
but much less so than are other wormwoods.
Plant community and distribution
''Artemisia pycnocephala'' is native to Oregon's and California's coastal strand plant community where it enjoys rocky and sandy soil. According to The University of California, Berkeley and Jepson Herbaria, this plant prefers to grow under 200 m. The plant's range within the State of California stretches primarily from Del Norte County to San Luis Obispo County, with isolated populations reported from Los Angeles
Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...
and San Diego Counties.[Calflora taxon report, University of California, Artemisia pycnocephala (Less.) DC. Beach Sagewort, Beach sage, coastal sagewort]
/ref>Biota of North America Program 2014 county distribution map
/ref>
References
External links
Calflora Database: ''Artemisia pycnocephala'' (Beach sagewort, Coastal sagewort)Jepson Manual eFlora (TJM2) treatment of ''Artemisia pycnocephala''
*
pycnocephala
Flora of California
Flora of Oregon
Natural history of the California chaparral and woodlands
Natural history of the San Francisco Bay Area
Plants described in 1838
Flora without expected TNC conservation status
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