Artemisia alaskana, the Alaskan sagebrush or Alaskan wormwood or Siberian wormwood, is a North American species of plants in the sunflower family.[3] It is found in British Columbia, the Yukon, the Northwest Territories, and Alaska.[4][3] Some authors have considered it as a subspecies as the Russian species A. kruhsiana.[5]
| Artemisia alaskana | |
|---|---|
Scientific classification 
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| Kingdom: | Plantae |
| Clade: | Tracheophytes |
| Clade: | Angiosperms |
| Clade: | Eudicots |
| Clade: | Asterids |
| Order: | Asterales |
| Family: | Asteraceae |
| Genus: | Artemisia |
| Species: | A. alaskana
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| Binomial name | |
| Artemisia alaskana | |
| Synonyms[1][2] | |
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Description edit
It is a perennial shrub up to 2 feet tall. The fruit is a cypsela, even though it is commonly mistaken as an achene. The bloom color is yellow. The bloom period is from June, July, and to August.[6] The leaves are blunt-tipped and twice ternate. Hair covers the white-silvery leaves and stem.[7]
Uses edit
Alaskan wormwood is used by the larvae of butterflies which are pollinating it. The plant is an important ingredient in some French cuisines, which chefs use as a flavoring. The plant has a medical purpose as well. It can be used as a cough medicine, lowers fever, cures colic and headache, and is great against intestinal parasites and malaria. The shrub emits a strong odor and has a bitter taste related to the terpenoids and sesquiterpene lactones within its cells.
The plant is used in various cosmetics such as enemas, infusions, lotions, and poultices. It is also used in breweries, and can be used as oil to repel fleas and moths from clothes. Moreover, it can be used as an anthelmintic, febrifuge, and stomachic. The plant requires full sun and partial shade, and a dry soil.[8]
Some wormwoods are used by native Alaskans, including the Tanainas. There are used in steam baths, on top of the rocks.[7]
Conservation status edit
It has a global rank of G4, meaning apparently secure. It also has a rank of S4 in Alaska and the Yukon. It has a S2 rank in British Columbia, meaning endangered. It does not have a local rank in the Northwest Territories.[9]
References edit
- ^ Tropicos, Artemisia alaskana Rydb.
- ^ The Plant List Artemisia alaskana Rydb.
- ^ a b www.evergreen.ca Retrieved on May 6th, 2008.
- ^ Flora of North America Vol. 19, 20 and 21 Page 523 Siberian wormwood, Artemisia alaskana Rydberg in N. L. Britton et al., N. Amer. Fl. 34: 281. 1916.
- ^ Murray, David Fletcher & Elven, Reidar 2008. Journal of the Botanical Research Institute of Texas 2(1): 443
- ^ "Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center - The University of Texas at Austin". www.wildflower.org. Retrieved 2023-08-08.
- ^ a b "Alaska's Wilderness Medicines - Wormwood". www.ankn.uaf.edu. Retrieved 2023-08-08.
- ^ Uses Retrieved on June 13th, 2012
- ^ "NatureServe Explorer 2.0". explorer.natureserve.org. Retrieved 2023-08-07.
External links edit
- Flora of British Columbia
- Alaska Wildflowers
- University of Michigan at Dearborn: Native American Ethnobotany of Artemisia alaskana
- Circle District Historical Society: Artemisia alaskana (Alaska Wormwood • Alaska Sagebrush)
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