Artemisia tridentata Nutt. subsp. tridentata
big sagebrush
Asteraceae (Aster family)

Introduction to Vascular Plants

Photograph

© Brian Klinkenberg     (Photo ID #6096)


Map

E-Flora BC Static Map

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

Species Information

General:
Perennial, aromatic, evergreen shrub; stems solitary or branched from the base with shredding, grey or light brown bark when older, or with a dense, grooved, white-woolly hairiness when young, 0.1-2.0 m tall.
Leaves:
Principal leaves unstalked or short-stalked, silvery-hairy, typically wedge-shaped with 3 blunt teeth at the tips or sometimes 4-9 toothed or shallowly lobed, 1-4 (rarely 6) cm long, 2-13 mm wide.
Flowers:
Heads discoid, numerous in a narrow to broad inflorescence; involucres narrowly bell-shaped, 3.0-3.8 mm tall; involucral bracts elliptic to obtuse, greyish-hairy; receptacles glabrous; female flowers absent; disk flowers 3-6, sometimes up to 12 at higher elevations.
Fruits:
Achenes resinous-granular, rarely short-hairy.
Notes:
Recently, the var. wyominensis Beetle & A. Young has been reported in BC. At the present time, however, our material has not been studied with respect to this variety thus only our two traditional varieties are recognized here. They may be distinguished as follows:

1. Involucres narrowly bell-shaped, about 4 mm tall and 2 mm wide; plants of arid sites in the steppe and lower montane zones ..... var. tridentata

1. Involucres broader, about 5 mm tall and 4 mm wide; plants of cooler, mesic open sites in the upper montane and subalpine zones ..... var. vaseyana (Rydb.) Boivin

SourceThe Illustrated Flora of British Columbia

USDA Species Characteristics

Flower Colour:
Green
Blooming Period:
Late Summer
Fruit/Seed characteristics:
Colour: White
Present from Summer to Fall
Source:  The USDA

Ecology

Ecological Framework for Artemisia tridentata ssp. tridentata

The table below shows the species-specific information calculated from
original data (BEC database) provided by the BC Ministry of Forests and Range.
(Updated August, 2013)

Site Information
Value / Class

Avg

Min

Max

Elevation (metres)
1010 1010 1010
Slope Gradient (%)
30 30 30

Aspect (degrees)
[0 - N; 90 - E; 180 - S; 270 - W]

249 250 250
Soil Moisture Regime (SMR)
[0 - very xeric; 4 - mesic;
8 - hydric]
2 2 2
Modal Nutrient Regime
Class
C
# of field plots
 species was recorded in:
1
Modal BEC Zone Class
IDF

All BEC Zones (# of stations/zone) species was recorded in

IDF(1)

Habitat and Range

Dry to mesic meadows and slopes in the steppe to subalpine zones; common in SC BC, rare in SE BC; E to AB and S to ND, NM, AZ, and CA.

SourceThe Illustrated Flora of British Columbia

Synonyms

Synonyms and Alternate Names:
Artemisia angusta Rydb.
Artemisia tridentata var. angustifolia A. Gray
Artemisia tridentata var. tridentata Nutt.
Seriphidium tridentatum (Nutt.) W.A. Weber