wormwoods and sagebrushes

genus Artemisia

Member of sunflower family (family Asteraceae)
dicots (class Magnoliopsida)
flowering plants (subphylum Angiospermae)

Except for historical records that I'm ignoring, there are no other wild species of this genus in the bay area.
Caution: The key to distinguish these species is not complete.

california sagebrush
Artemisia californica

axillary leaf clusters present
very common
hosts sagebrush woolly stem gall midge (Rhopalomyia floccosa)

generally no axillary leaf clusters

These look fairly distinct from california sagebrush and from each other. I’ll add more notes here as I discover them.

california mugwort
Artemisia douglasiana

leaves 1–8 cm wide, entire to pinnately lobed

leaves ± glaborus to sparsely tomentose adaxially, glabrous or hairy abaxially

very common

silver wormwood
Artemisia ludoviciana

leaves 0.5–1 cm wide, densely gray-hairy (or becoming ± glabrous adaxially)
not known to be in the bay area

per CalFlora, not in the bay area
no research-grade observations in the bay area, but iNaturalist likes to suggest it anyway

tarragon
Artemisia dracunculus

Coe, Sunol

beach wormwood
Artemisia pycnocephala

directly on the coast

biennial wormwood
Artemisia biennis

rare

common mugwort
Artemisia vulgaris

very rare

Toxicity of sagebrush, wormseed or wormwood (Artemisia spp.):
4 – Ingestion of these plants, especially in large amounts, is expected to cause serious effects to the heart, liver, kidneys or brain. If ingested in any amount, call the poison center immediately.

3 observed taxons / 4 unobserved taxons / 1 key

Chris’s observations: 60 (51 are research grade)

Locations:

Almaden Quicksilver CP: 5
Edgewood Park & Natural Preserve: 5
Santa Teresa CP: 4
Calero CP: 3
Murray Ranch SP: 3
Alum Rock Park, San Jose: 2
Castle Rock SP: 2
Coal Creek OSP: 2
Dr. Aurelia Reinhardt Redwood RP: 2
Ed R. Levin CP: 2
Skyline Ridge OSP: 2
Stevens Creek CP: 2
Sweeney Ridge National Recreation Area: 2
Andrew Molera SP
Dimond Canyon Trail, Oakland
Foothills Nature Preserve, Palo Alto
Fremont Older OSP
Garin RP
Garrapata SP
Golden Gate National Recreation Area
Henry Coe SP
Jacks Peak CP
Lake Chabot RP
Lexington Reservoir CP
Monte Bello OSP
Mt. Diablo SP
Pescadero Creek CP
Picchetti Ranch OSP
Point Lobos SP
Portola Redwoods SP
Purisima Creek Redwoods OSP
Rancho Cañada del Oro OSP
San Bruno Mountain State & County Park
San Pedro Valley CP
Sibley Volcanic RP
Sunol Wilderness RP
Windy Hill OSP

Months:

Jan.: 3
Feb.: 3
Mar.: 3
Apr.: 9
May: 4
Jun.: 9
Jul.: 7
Aug.: 8
Sep.: 3
Oct.: 1
Nov.: 5
Dec.: 5

For more details, use advanced search.

Taxon info: iNaturalist – Calflora – Jepson eFlora – FNA

Bay Area species: iNaturalist – Calflora