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Image 1. Artemisia ludoviciana; photo by Larry Allain
Figure 2. White hairs present on the stems and leaves of Artemisia ludoviciana.
Figure 3. Artemisia ludoviciana growing on one of its preferred soil types
Description
Artemisia ludoviciana is a white-woolly, perennial shrub. Its shape is maintained by erect stems, which grow to an approximate height of 1 meter. White sage has a rhizomatous root system and forms a dense network of roots close to the surface of the soil. These roots can spread to approximate widths of 1 meter around the plant. This results in the formation of vegetative colonies of white sage that excludes other plant species. The leaves alternate on this plant species. They can have many shapes including oblanceolate, narrowly ovate, or linear. The leaves can be entirely to irregularly toothed or lobed. They grow 3-11 centimeters in length and up to 1.5 centimeters in width. Both the stems and leaves of this shrub are densely covered by short white hairs, thus providing its common name of white sage (Image 2). White sage blooms around the months of August and September. This blooming period lasts about a month. The flowers are located among the leaves close to the ends of the stems. They form tight, green clusters. These flowers are not scented, even thought the rest of the foliage is quite aromatic. This aromatic scent is a strong odor of sagebrush. Due to the flowers not being scented, this species is pollinated by wind rather than insects. The seeds that are produced do not possess special features for wind dispersal, but are small enough that wind dispersal is possible.
Habitat
Artemisia ludoviciana is a native species of the western United States of America. It has a very wide range of distribution. White sage can be found in Montana, Utah, Colorado, the Cascade Mountains in Washington and Oregon, Texas, the Great Plains states, and even eastern Canada and Mexico. It can grow in a number of different environments including riparian areas along both perennial and intermittent streams, the sagebrush steppe, the prairies, and semi-disturbed sites. The preferred soil type is dry, sandy to rocky soil (Image 3). This soil can be poor to moderately fertile. White sage prefers areas with full sun exposure. This shrub occurs at elevations below 3,500 meters.
Use
Artemisia ludoviciana is a known ethnobotanic and has been used throughout history as such. Also this plant provides cover for many small desert animals. It also constitutes the diets of many species. White sage is also sold commercially as a cultivar and as a flavoring or garnish for cooking.