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Smith, R.W.

Artemisia ludoviciana

Artemisia ludoviciana Nutt.

Louisiana Artemisia, Louisiana Sage, White Sage, Prairie Sage, Silver Sage, White Sagebrush, Louisiana Wormwood, Silver Wormwood, Louisiana Sagewort, Gray Sagewort, Cudweed Sagewort, Mugwort Wormwood

Asteraceae (Aster Family)

Synonym(s):

USDA Symbol: ARLU

USDA Native Status: L48 (N), CAN (N)

This is a stiff, aromatic, silvery-white perennial, 1 1/2-3 ft. tall, which can spread quickly to form large colonies. Shrub-like, white, densely matted with hairs, from rhizome. Small, yellowish flowers are secondary to the silver color of the erect stems and narrow leaves, created by a dense coat of hairs.

This is a common artemisia, with attractive, fragrant, whitish green foliage. Its adaptability and tendency to colonize makes it a good choice for a low-maintenance, knee- to waist-high groundcover. It can even take mowing.

From the Image Gallery

24 photo(s) available in the Image Gallery

Plant Characteristics

Duration: Perennial
Habit: Subshrub
Root Type: Tap
Leaf Retention: Semi-evergreen
Size Notes: Usually up to about 3 feet tall. Rarely up to 4 feet tall in desert washes.
Leaf: White-gray. Northern populations have whiter, broader leaves.
Fruit: Fruit is a cypsela (pl. cypselae). Though technically incorrect, the fruit is often referred to as an achene.

Bloom Information

Bloom Color: Red , Yellow
Bloom Time: Jun , Jul , Aug , Sep , Oct , Nov
Bloom Notes: Yellow, sometimes tinged red.

Distribution

USA: AR , AZ , CA , CO , CT , DE , GA , IA , ID , IL , IN , KS , KY , LA , MA , MD , ME , MI , MN , MO , MS , MT , NC , ND , NE , NH , NJ , NM , NV , NY , OH , OK , OR , PA , RI , SC , SD , TN , TX , UT , VA , VT , WA , WI , WY
Canada: AB , BC , MB , NB , NT , ON , PE , QC , SK
Native Distribution: Much of North America, from Canada south to Mexico
Native Habitat: Dry slopes; canyons; open pine woods; dry prairies. Eastern populations more in uplands, western populations more in lowlands.

Growing Conditions

Water Use: Low
Light Requirement: Sun
Soil Moisture: Dry
CaCO3 Tolerance: High
Drought Tolerance: High
Heat Tolerant: yes
Soil Description: Dry to mesic, rocky, shallow soils, well drained. Sand, loam, clay, caliche, limestone. Very adaptable.
Conditions Comments: Becomes leggy in fertile, moist soils.

Benefit

Use Ornamental: A colonizing groundcover plant that has attractive silvery foliage and takes tough conditions.
Use Medicinal: Tea from leaves for stomach troubles. Tea of roots for laxative, inability to urinate and difficulty in childbirth. Crushed leaf as snuff for sinus attacks, nosebleed and headaches. Strong tea as wash for eczema, deodorant and antiperspirant for underarms and feet.
Use Other: Smoke for ceremonial uses. Tea from leaves for ceremonial bathing. Cut stalks used for fragrant wreaths and floral arrangements.
Conspicuous Flowers: yes
Fragrant Foliage: yes

Value to Beneficial Insects

Provides Nesting Materials/Structure for Native Bees

This information was provided by the Pollinator Program at The Xerces Society for Invertebrate Conservation.

Propagation

Propagation Material: Root Division , Seeds
Description: Increase by sowing seeds or dividing the rhizomes in spring or fall. Mature plants may also be divided.
Commercially Avail: yes
Maintenance: Mow in fall to have rosettes throughout winter.

Find Seed or Plants

Find seed sources for this species at the Native Seed Network.

View propagation protocol from Native Plants Network.

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National Wetland Indicator Status

Region:	AGCP	AK	AW	CB	EMP	GP	HI	MW	NCNE	WMVE
Status:	UPL	FACU	FACU		UPL	UPL		UPL	UPL	FACU

This information is derived from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers National Wetland Plant List, Version 3.1 (Lichvar, R.W. 2013. The National Wetland Plant List: 2013 wetland ratings. Phytoneuron 2013-49: 1-241). Click here for map of regions.

From the National Organizations Directory

According to the species list provided by Affiliate Organizations, this plant is on display at the following locations:

Santa Barbara Botanic Garden - Santa Barbara, CA
Texas Discovery Gardens - Dallas, TX
Sibley Nature Center - Midland, TX
Brackenridge Field Laboratory - Austin, TX
United States Botanic Garden - Washington, DC
Natural Biodiversity - Johnstown, PA
Native Seed Network - Corvallis, OR

Herbarium Specimen(s)

NPSOT 0104 Collected Nov. 10, 1990 in Bexar County by Lottie Millsaps

1 specimen(s) available in the Digital Herbarium

Bibliography

Bibref 610 - Edible wild plants of the prairie : an ethnobotanical guide (1987) Kindscher, K.
Bibref 946 - Gardening with Prairie Plants: How to Create Beautiful Native Landscapes (2002) Wasowski, Sally
Bibref 355 - Landscaping with Native Plants of Texas and the Southwest (1991) Miller, G. O.
Bibref 293 - Manual of the Vascular Plants of Texas (1979) Correll, D. S. & M. C. Johnston
Bibref 318 - Native Texas Plants: Landscaping Region by Region (2002) Wasowski, S. & A. Wasowski
Bibref 1294 - The Midwestern Native Garden: Native Alternatives to Nonnative Flowers and Plants An Illustrated Guide (2011) Adelman, Charlotte and Schwartz, Bernard L.

Search More Titles in Bibliography

Web Reference

Webref 30 - Calflora (2018) Calflora
Webref 38 - Flora of North America (2019) Missouri Botanical Garden, St. Louis, MO & Harvard University Herbaria, Cambridge, MA.
Webref 23 - Southwest Environmental Information Network (2009) SEINet - Arizona Chapter

Additional resources

USDA: Find Artemisia ludoviciana in USDA Plants
FNA: Find Artemisia ludoviciana in the Flora of North America (if available)
Google: Search Google for Artemisia ludoviciana

Metadata

Record Modified: 2022-11-22
Research By: TWC Staff

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