E-Flora BC: Electronic Atlas of the Flora of BC

Artemisia ludoviciana Nutt. subsp. ludoviciana
western mugwort
Asteraceae (Aster family)

Introduction to Vascular Plants

Photograph

Map

Distribution of Artemisia ludoviciana subsp. ludoviciana
Click here to view the full interactive map and legend

Species Information

General:
Perennial aromatic herb from a rhizome; stems erect, simple with white matted hairs, 0.3-1.0 m tall.

Leaves:
Stem leaves numerous with dense, white, matted hairs on both sides or loosely woolly to green and glabrate above, lanceolate to oblanceolate or elliptic, entire to deeply lobed, the lobes sometimes again toothed or irregularly lobed, 3-9 cm long, 10-21 mm wide.

Flowers:
Heads disciform, numerous in a branched or narrow, spikelike inflorescence; involucres egg-shaped to bell-shaped, 2.5-4.5 mm tall; involucral bracts broadly lanceolate to egg-shaped with dense, white, matted hairs or sometimes glabrate; receptacles glabrous; female flowers 5-12; disk flowers 6-21.

Fruits:
Achenes glabrous.

Notes:
This extremely variable species is represented in BC by three varieties. These may be separated as follows:

1. Principal leaves mostly entire, sometimes with a few lobes................... var. ludoviciana

1. Principal leaves more or less deeply parted or divided.

2. Leaves merely lobed, seldom subpinnately cut............. var. latiloba Nutt.

2. Leaves bipinnately cut with the ultimate segments again divided.................. var. incompta (Nutt.) Cronq.

Source: The Illustrated Flora of British Columbia

Illustration

If more than one illustration is available for a species (e.g., separate illustrations were provided for two subspecies) then links to the separate images will be provided below. Note that individual subspecies or varietal illustrations are not always available.

Illustration Source: The Illustrated Flora of British Columbia

Habitat and Range

Mesic to dry slopes, gravelly river terraces and open forests in the steppe, montane and subalpine zones; vars. latiloba and ludoviciana common in S BC, rare near the coast, var. incompta rare in SE BC, known recently only from Cherryville and Sage Creek; E to ON and S to IL, TX, NM, AZ, CA and NW MX.

Source: The Illustrated Flora of British Columbia

Status Information

Scientific Name	Origin Status	Provincial Status	BC List (Red Blue List)	COSEWIC
Artemisia ludoviciana ssp. candicans	Native	S5	Yellow	Not Listed
Artemisia ludoviciana ssp. ludoviciana	Native	S5	Yellow	Not Listed

BC Ministry of Environment: BC Species and Ecosystems Explorer.

Synonyms

Synonyms and Alternate Names:
Artemisia diversifolia Rydb.
Artemisia gnaphalodes Nutt.
Artemisia ludoviciana subsp. typica D.D. Keck
Artemisia ludoviciana var. americana (Besser) Fernald
Artemisia ludoviciana var. brittonii (Rydb.) Fernald
Artemisia ludoviciana var. gnaphalodes (Nutt.) Torr. & A. Gray
Artemisia ludoviciana var. latifolia (Besser) Torr. & A. Gray
Artemisia ludoviciana var. ludoviciana Nutt.
Artemisia ludoviciana var. pabularis (A. Nelson) Fernald
Artemisia pabularis (A. Nelson) Rydb.
Artemisia purshiana Besser
Artemisia vulgaris subsp. ludoviciana (Nutt.) H.M. Hall & Clem.
Artemisia vulgaris var. ludoviciana (Nutt.) Kuntze