Michaux's Wormwood

Members of the Artemisia ludoviciana complex with deeply lobed leaves are sometimes confused with A. michauxiana, and there is evidence that plants hybridize in some locations. Artemisia michauxiana is distinguished by its glabrous, bright green to yellow-green foliage and lemony-sweet fragrance.

Perennials, 30–100 cm, strongly aromatic (lemon-scented; rhizomatous). Stems relatively many, erect, green, simple, glabrous. Leaves cauline, green; blades broadly lanceolate to narrowly elliptic, 1.5–11 × 1–1.5 cm, 2-pinnately lobed, (ultimate lobes toothed), faces white-tomentose (abaxial) or glabrous (adaxial), yellow-gland-dotted. Heads (erect to nodding, peduncles 0 or to 10 mm) in paniculiform to spiciform arrays 8–15 × 1–1.5 cm. Involucres campanulate, 3(–4) × 2–5.5 mm. Phyllaries (yellow-green, rarely purplish) broadly ovate, glabrous or sparsely hairy, yellow-gland-dotted. Florets: pistillate 9–12; bisexual 15–35; corollas yellow, 1–1.5 mm, glandular. Cypselae (yellow to light brown) ellipsoid, ca. 0.5 mm, glabrous or glandular. 2n = 18, 36.

Artemisia discolor Douglas ex Besser; A. vulgaris Linnaeus subsp. michauxiana (Besser) H. St. John

Artemisia michauxiana Besser; Hook. Fl. Bor. Am. 1: 324 1833.
/lr/<mij>a rfijcofcir A. Gray, Syn. Fl. N. Am. 1': 373, mainly. 1884. Not /I. dt'scotojDougl. 1837.
A perennial, more or less sulTruticose at the base, with a much branched caudcx; stems
2-4 dm. high, floccose when young, glabrate in age, mostly simple; leaves 3-6 cm. long, subsessile, pinnately or bipinnately divided or cleft into linear or lanceolate or rarely broader often toothed divisions, sparingly floccose above when young, glabrate in age, white-tomentose beneath; heads usually in a simple spikeor raceme-like inflorescence, at first nodding; involucre hemispheric, 3-4 mm. high, 5-7 mm. broad; bracts 10-12, in 3 series, the outer linear-lanceolate, acute, shorter than the innermost; inner bracts oval, obtuse; ray-flowers 10-12; corollas 1.5 mm. long; disk-flowers 15-30; corollas about 2 mm. long.
Type locality: Rocky Mountains [Canadian].
Distribution: Saskatchewan to British Columbia, Washington, Utah, and Colorado.

Artemisia michauxiana is a North American species of wormwood in the sunflower family. It is known by the common names Michaux's wormwood and lemon sagewort. It is native to the western United States and Canada. It grows in mountain talus habitats in subalpine to alpine climates.

Artemisia michauxiana is a rhizomatous perennial herb with green, lemon-scented foliage. The plant grows up to 100 cm (40 inches) tall with several erect branches. The leaves are divided into many narrow segments which are hairless or lightly hairy and bear yellowish resin glands. The inflorescence is a spike up to 15 centimeters long full of clusters of small flower heads. Each head is lined with rough purplish green, glandular phyllaries and generally contains pale pistillate and disc florets. The fruit is a tiny hairless achene.