''Artemisia bigelovii'' is a

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 ...

n species of

sagebrush Sagebrush is the common name of several woody and herbaceous species of plants in the genus ''Artemisia''. The best known sagebrush is the shrub ''Artemisia tridentata''. Sagebrushes are native to the North American west. Following is an alph ...

known by the common name Bigelow sagebrush or flat sagebrush.Calflora taxon report, University of California, Artemisia bigelovii A. Gray Bigelow sagebrush, Flat sagebrush
/ref> It grows in the deserts of the

southwestern United States The Southwestern United States, also known as the American Southwest or simply the Southwest, is a geographic and cultural region of the United States that generally includes Arizona, New Mexico, and adjacent portions of California, Colorado, Ne ...

Distribution

It is native to

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 ...

( Inyo + San Bernardino Counties),

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 ...

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 ...

Utah Utah ( , ) is a state in the Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. Utah is a landlocked U.S. state bordered to its east by Colorado, to its northeast by Wyoming, to its north by Idaho, to its south by Arizona, and to it ...

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 ...

New Mexico ) , population_demonym = New Mexican ( es, Neomexicano, Neomejicano, Nuevo Mexicano) , seat = Santa Fe , LargestCity = Albuquerque , LargestMetro = Tiguex , OfficialLang = None , Languages = English, Spanish ( New Mexican), Navajo, Ker ...

, 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 ...

.Biota of North America Program 2014 county distribution map
/ref> It grows in

desert A desert is a barren area of landscape where little precipitation occurs and, consequently, living conditions are hostile for plant and animal life. The lack of vegetation exposes the unprotected surface of the ground to denudation. About on ...

, basin,

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

juniper Junipers are coniferous trees and shrubs in the genus ''Juniperus'' () of the cypress family Cupressaceae. Depending on the taxonomy, between 50 and 67 species of junipers are widely distributed throughout the Northern Hemisphere, from the Arcti ...

woodland A woodland () is, in the broad sense, land covered with trees, or in a narrow sense, synonymous with wood (or in the U.S., the ''plurale tantum'' woods), a low-density forest forming open habitats with plenty of sunlight and limited shade (see ...

habitats. It is very drought-tolerant and lives in arid regions on sandy and

limestone Limestone ( calcium carbonate ) is a type of carbonate sedimentary rock which is the main source of the material lime. It is composed mostly of the minerals calcite and aragonite, which are different crystal forms of . Limestone forms whe ...

-rich soils.Forest Service Fire Ecology
/ref>

Description

''Artemisia bigelovii'' is a

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 from a woody base and reaching a maximum height around 50 cm (20 inches). It has many slender, curving

branch A branch, sometimes called a ramus in botany, is a woody structural member connected to the central trunk (botany), trunk of a tree (or sometimes a shrub). Large branches are known as boughs and small branches are known as twigs. The term '' ...

es with shredding bark and is generally in overall habit. The stem branches and

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

are coated in silvery hairs, giving the plant a gray color. The leaves are less than 3 centimeters long and may end in a point or in three distinct teeth.Flora_of_North_America_Vol._19,_20_and_21_Page_512_Bigelow_sagebrush_''Artemisia_bigelovii''_A._Gray_in_War_Department_[U.S.
/nowiki>,_Pacif._Railr._Rep._4(5):_110._1857..html" ;"title=".S.">Flora of North America Vol. 19, 20 and 21 Page 512 Bigelow sagebrush ''Artemisia bigelovii'' A. Gray in War Department [U.S.
/nowiki>, Pacif. Railr. Rep. 4(5): 110. 1857.">.S.">Flora of North America Vol. 19, 20 and 21 Page 512 Bigelow sagebrush ''Artemisia bigelovii'' A. Gray in War Department [U.S.
/nowiki>, Pacif. Railr. Rep. 4(5): 110. 1857./ref> The inflorescence is a panicle of Head (botany), flower heads containing yellowish disc florets and occasionally a small ray floret. The fruit is a tiny achene about a millimeter long.

Uses

This species of sagebrush is good winter fodder for grazing animals and it is cultivated as plant cover on recovering

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 ...

and for

erosion Erosion is the action of surface processes (such as water flow or wind) that removes soil, rock, or dissolved material from one location on the Earth's crust, and then transports it to another location where it is deposited. Erosion is distin ...

control.

References

External links

Jepson Manual Treatment
*
SEINet Arizona Chapter, ''Artemisia bigelovii'' A. Gray
{{- bigelovii Flora of the Southwestern United States Flora of the South-Central United States Flora of the California desert regions Flora of Colorado Flora of the Colorado Plateau and Canyonlands region Natural history of the Mojave Desert Fodder Plants described in 1857 Flora without expected TNC conservation status