Artemisia douglasiana

Did You Know?

• The plant prefers direct sunlight and moist soils but tolerates shade and dry soils.
• It is often found in ditches and streambanks.

Description

This dicot perennial forb grows erect stems from a colony of rhizomes requiring at least 16 cm of soil depth. Its grey-green leaves are elliptical with 3–5 lobes at the tips, which may range from nearly absent to highly defined. The leaves contain thujone and cineole. Bell-shaped flower clusters appear from May to October, each containing 5–9 pistillate flowers and 6–25 disk flowers. Although it can reproduce from seed, it spreads primarily through rhizome division. The extensive rhizomes help stabilize streambanks and prevent erosion. The plant is susceptible to Pierce's disease caused by Xylella fastidiosa and hosts galls from Aceria abalis and Rhopalomyia occidentalis.

Uses

Native birds eat the seeds of this plant, while some native bees use its leaves to build nests. Many Native American tribes have used it medicinally for joint pain, headaches, scrapes, and rashes like poison ivy, as well as for women's health issues such as irregular periods and occasionally to induce abortion. It also holds ceremonial value: people carry it to keep away spirits of the dead, and it was smoked or brewed into tea to bring on vivid dreams. Today, herbalists grow it for both healing and spiritual reasons, and native plant nurseries sell it for wildlife gardens, habitat restoration, and erosion control.