Artemisia cana facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Artemisia cana |
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| Silver sagebrush in Dinosaur Provincial Park, Alberta |
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| Scientific classification | |
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Artemisia
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| Species: |
cana
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Artemisia cana is a type of sagebrush plant. It grows naturally in western and central North America. This plant is part of the sunflower family.
It has many common names. Some of these include silver sagebrush, sticky sagebrush, silver wormwood, hoary sagebrush, and dwarf sagebrush.
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Contents
Where Silver Sagebrush Grows
Artemisia cana, also known as silver sagebrush, is a plant with a strong smell. It is a shrub that you can find in many places. These include grasslands, areas near rivers called floodplains, and mountain forests.
This plant is native to several Canadian provinces. These are British Columbia, Alberta, Saskatchewan, and Manitoba. It also grows in many American states. These include Alaska, Oregon, California, Idaho, Nevada, Utah, Arizona, Montana, Wyoming, Colorado, New Mexico, North and South Dakota, Nebraska, and Minnesota.
What Silver Sagebrush Looks Like
Artemisia cana usually grows to be about 50 to 150 centimeters (20 to 59 inches) tall. Plants found west of the Continental Divide are often shorter. Those found to the east are usually taller.
The leaves of this plant are narrow and stay green all year. They have a grey-green color and a special smell.
How it Was Discovered
The first official description of Artemisia cana came from Meriwether Lewis. He collected a sample on October 1, 1804. This happened near Centinel Creek in South Dakota. It was during the famous Lewis and Clark Expedition.
Lewis wrote about the plant in his journals. He noted that many plants on the hills smelled like sage. He described one plant that smelled like camphor. Another plant had soft, narrow leaves with a nice smell. He observed that antelope animals loved this plant. They would eat it and rub against it to put its scent on their fur.
Types of Silver Sagebrush
There are different types, or subspecies, of Artemisia cana:
- Artemisia cana ssp. bolanderi — This is called Bolander's silver sagebrush. You can find it in mountain meadows and along streambanks. It grows in eastern California, Oregon, and northwestern Nevada.
- Artemisia cana subsp. cana — This type is known as plains silver sagebrush or Coaltown sagebrush. It grows across most of the plant's range.
- Artemisia cana ssp. viscidula — This is the mountain silver sagebrush. It grows in lower sagebrush areas. These include the Great Basin, Colorado Plateau, and Snake River Plain.
See also
In Spanish: Artemisia cana para niños
