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Black
Sagebrush
Common
Name(s):
Black Sagebrush
Black Sage
Scientific
Name:
Artemisia
nova A. Nels.
Scientific
Name Synonyms:
None known
Symbol:
ARNO4
Description:
Life Span: Perennial
Origin:
Native
Season: Evergreen
Growth Characteristics:
A
small, spreading, aromatic shrub, with a rounded crown and a dwarf
growth habit, growing only 10 to 18 inches tall. It flowers August
to September and reproduces from seeds.
Flowers/Inflorescence:
The
flowers are small, and oblong, occurring in smaller numbers than
big sagebrush. The flowering stalks ascend above the herbage, and
are brownish or tan in color.
Fruits/Seeds:
Seeds are brownish, flattened, and without hairs.
Leaves: Alternate.
They are 3 lobed, with the leaf constricting immediately below the
lobes, somewhat like a chickens foot. The leaves are dark to pale
green, and often hairy. Glands can be seen on the leaves.
Stems: Twigs
are round, short, rigid, light to dark reddish-brown, becoming black
with age. The trunk is dark, reddish-brown to black.
Ecological
Adaptations:
Black
sagebrush is found on gentle, rocky slopes and windswept ridges
in dry, shallow soils, in the foothills and desert mountain ranges
of Utah, at elevations of 4,000 to 8,000 feet. It is closely associated
with the salt-desert shrub habitats.
Soils: Black
sagebrush can grow in soils ranging from clayey to gravelly. It
prefers soils that are dry, shallow, gravelly, and well drained.
It is usually associated with soils underlain by caliche or impervious
pans.
Associated Species:
Big
sagebrush, shadscale, bluebunch
wheatgrass, Indian
ricegrass, and bottlebrush
squirreltail.
Uses and
Management:
Black
sagebrush provides good forage for livestock, but is poorly consumed
in the summer. It provides excellent winter browse for sheep and
pronghorn. When black sagebrush is consumed by sheep prior to consuming
Tetradymia sp., it can contribute to the development of bighead.
Black sagebrush is important to sage grouse for nesting.
Moderate mid-winter or alternate years grazing systems are recommended
for maintenance of black sagebrush.
Some American Indians drank a decoction of the boiled stems, leaves,
and twigs for bronchitis. The leaves were crushed and the vapor
inhaled to relieve nasal congestion.
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