Artemisia biennis (Biennial Wormwood) - photos and description
Basal leaf in above photo.
Stem leaf in above photo.
Origin: Introduced.
General: Annual or biennial plant, stems reddish to about 1/2 their length. Plants glabrous. Foliage has a pleasant aroma.
Flowers: Flower heads are numerous, growing in short spikes from leaf axils, forming a leafy panicle. Flower head measured at 3 mm long and 2 mm wide.
Leaves: Stem leaves are alternate, deeply dissected into narrow, toothed segments, stem leaf highlighted in photo above was measured at 5 cm long and 2.5 cm wide. Basal leaves pinnate to 14 leaflets, basal leaf highlighted in photo above was measured at 19 cm long (including petiole) and 9 cm wide. Most plants, however, with no basal leaves.
Height: Height listed in Budd's Flora to 100 cm tall, I measured plants to 98 cm tall.
Habitat: Habitat is moist places on slough margins, edges of fields, and roadsides.
Abundance: Common.
How to identify this species of Artemisia: Foliage green, leaves dissected into lanceolate divisions, the divisions with teeth.
Similar species: This plant might be mistaken for Artemisia campestris.
- Artemisia campestris has leaves hat are divided into very narrow, linear divisions, the divisions with entire margins (without teeth).
- Artemisia biennis has leaves that are divided into lanceolate divisions, the divisions having teeth.
When and where photographed: Photos taken September 17th edge of moist area in field, about 70 km southeast of our home in Regina, SK.