''Artemisia stelleriana'' is an

Asia Asia (, ) is one of the world's most notable geographical regions, which is either considered a continent in its own right or a subcontinent of Eurasia, which shares the continental landmass of Afro-Eurasia with Africa. Asia covers an are ...

n and

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 th ...

n species of

plant Plants are predominantly photosynthetic eukaryotes of the kingdom Plantae. Historically, the plant kingdom encompassed all living things that were not animals, and included algae and fungi; however, all current definitions of Plantae excl ...

s in the sunflower family. It is native to

China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by population, most populous country, with a Population of China, population exceeding 1.4 billion, slig ...

(

Heixiazi Island Bolshoi Ussuriysky Island (russian: Большо́й Уссури́йский о́стров Bol'shoy Ussuriyskiy Ostrov), or Heixiazi Island (; lit. "black blind island"), is a sedimentary island at the confluence of the Ussuri and ...

Heilongjiang Province Heilongjiang () formerly romanized as Heilungkiang, is a province in northeast China. The standard one-character abbreviation for the province is (). It was formerly romanized as "Heilungkiang". It is the northernmost and easternmost provinc ...

Japan Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the n ...

Korea Korea ( ko, 한국, or , ) is a peninsular region in East Asia. Since 1945, it has been divided at or near the 38th parallel, with North Korea (Democratic People's Republic of Korea) comprising its northern half and South Korea (Republic ...

Russian Far East The Russian Far East (russian: Дальний Восток России, r=Dal'niy Vostok Rossii, p=ˈdalʲnʲɪj vɐˈstok rɐˈsʲiɪ) is a region in Northeast Asia. It is the easternmost part of Russia and the Asian continent; and is admin ...

(

Sakhalin Sakhalin ( rus, Сахали́н, r=Sakhalín, p=səxɐˈlʲin; ja, 樺太 ''Karafuto''; zh, c=, p=Kùyèdǎo, s=库页岛, t=庫頁島; Manchu: ᠰᠠᡥᠠᠯᡳᠶᠠᠨ, ''Sahaliyan''; Orok: Бугата на̄, ''Bugata nā''; Nivkh ...

Kuril Islands The Kuril Islands or Kurile Islands (; rus, Кури́льские острова́, r=Kuril'skiye ostrova, p=kʊˈrʲilʲskʲɪjə ɐstrɐˈva; Japanese language, Japanese: or ) are a volcanic archipelago currently administered as part of Sakh ...

Yakutia Sakha, officially the Republic of Sakha (Yakutia),, is the largest republic of Russia, located in the Russian Far East, along the Arctic Ocean, with a population of roughly 1 million. Sakha comprises half of the area of its governing Far E ...

Kamchatka Peninsula The Kamchatka Peninsula (russian: полуостров Камчатка, Poluostrov Kamchatka, ) is a peninsula in the Russian Far East, with an area of about . The Pacific Ocean and the Sea of Okhotsk make up the peninsula's eastern and w ...

), and the

Aleutian Islands The Aleutian Islands (; ; ale, Unangam Tanangin,”Land of the Aleuts", possibly from Chukchi ''aliat'', "island"), also called the Aleut Islands or Aleutic Islands and known before 1867 as the Catherine Archipelago, are a chain of 14 large v ...

in the

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 Continental United States, primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 U.S. state, states, a Washington, D.C., ...

. The species is widely cultivated as an ornamental and naturalized in scattered locations in

, primarily on coastal dunes and other sandy locations, as well as in

Scandinavia Scandinavia; Sámi languages: /. ( ) is a subregion in Northern Europe, with strong historical, cultural, and linguistic ties between its constituent peoples. In English usage, ''Scandinavia'' most commonly refers to Denmark, Norway, and S ...

. Common names include hoary mugwort, Dusty Miller, beach wormwood, and oldwoman.

Description

The

s have pale-green to white

leaves A leaf ( : leaves) is any of the principal appendages of a vascular plant stem, usually borne laterally aboveground and specialized for photosynthesis. Leaves are collectively called foliage, as in "autumn foliage", while the leaves, st ...

, which are covered on both surfaces with thick trichomes, giving a silver or whitish appearance. The yellow

flower A flower, sometimes known as a bloom or blossom, is the reproductive structure found in flowering plants (plants of the division Angiospermae). The biological function of a flower is to facilitate reproduction, usually by providing a mechanis ...

s grow in tall clusters and bloom from July to late August. The species thrives in dry and hot climates.

Cultivars

A number of forms have been selected as garden cultivars. 'Boughton Silver' (aka 'Silver Brocade') is probably the best known cultivar. It is a prostrate form with prettily cut broad white leaves and was originally known as 'Mori's form'. English plantswoman Valerie Finnis (Lady Scott) was given this form by a Mr Mori during her honeymoon in Japan in 1970. It was distributed in UK mainly as 'Mori's form', but was also known as 'Boughton Silver' relating to her husband's garden at Boughton House, Northamptonshire. It was taken to Canada by Bruce McDonald and renamed 'Silver Brocade.' 'Nana' is a more erect (30 cm), but lax stemmed form with less deeply cut silverish leaves. It has been grown for many years in UK where it is used as a filler between other plants in the herbaceous border. 'Elsworth' is a taller (45 cm) more strongly erect stemmed form with more deeply cut silver leaves. It was selected by UK National Artemisia Collection Holder John Twibell c1990. 'Shemya' is a short form (30 cm) with silver green leaves, and was also selected by John Twibell c2013 This form was selected from seed originating from Shemya in the Aleutian Isles (Alaska, USA).

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q2862331 stelleriana Flora of Asia Flora of Alaska Plants described in 1834 Taxa named by Wilibald Swibert Joseph Gottlieb von Besser Flora without expected TNC conservation status