Kansas Wildflowers and Grasses

SAND SAGEBRUSH

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Artemisia filifolia Torr.

Comanche County, Kansas

Perennial shrub

Height: Up to 40 inches

Family: Asteraceae - Sunflower Family

Flowering Period: June, July, August, September

Also Called:

Sand sage, silvery wormwood.

Stems:

Erect or ascending, much branched; covered with short, soft hairs when young; bark with longitudinal lines when mature; twigs erect, slender, flexible, branched, brown to grayish, pubescent to glabrous.

Leaves:

Alternate, simple, sessile, often clustered in bunches, 1.2 to 2.5 inches long, thread-like, grayish-green, short-woolly to nearly glabrous; lower leaves deeply 3-lobed; lobes very narrow, thread-like.

Inflorescences:

Panicle, leafy, plume-like, 6 to 8 inches long, 1/5 to 4/5 inch wide; heads numerous; bracts leaf-like, often exceeding heads.

Flowers:

Heads inconspicuous, disk-shaped, pubescent, about 1/12 inch tall; short-stalked; outer ray florets 2-3, pistillate, fertile, whitish; inner disk florets 1-6, funnel-shaped, staminate, sterile; stamens 5

Fruits:

Achene, egg-shaped, less than 1/25 inch long, brown, ribbed, 1-seeded.

Habitat:

Pastures and prairies; open, sandy soil.

Distribution:

West 1/2 of Kansas.

Reproduction:

By seeds.

Toxicity:

Horses that eat large amounts can develop "sage sickness". Symptoms include digestive disturbance, nervousness, and foreleg incoordination.

Forage Value:

No forage value for cattle; poor to fair for sheep and horses; fair for deer and antelope. A winter browse for sheep.

Uses:

Native Americans used an infusion of the plant to treat boils and indigestion. The liquid was also taken internally and used as a wash to treat snake bites. The soft leaves were used as a toilet paper substitute. Ground-foraging birds eat the seeds. Birds use sand sagebrush for cover and as a nesting site.

Comments:

Sand sagebrush is known to cause allergy symptoms. It bears fruit in October.

Sand sagebrush