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Big Sagebrush Wikimedia Commons
Asteraceae

Big Sagebrush

Artemisia tridentata

Endurance and the wild West.

Family
Asteraceae
Genus
Artemisia
Native to
Western North America
Bloom season
Late Summer, Fall
Type
shrub
Height
3-10 ft
Sunlight
full sun
Soil
dry, alkaline, well-drained
Water
low
Hardiness
4-9
Lifespan
perennial

Did you know

  • Big sagebrush is the most widespread shrub in North America, covering an estimated 250 million acres of western landscape.
  • The distinctive silvery aroma of sagebrush after rain is iconic to the American West and is caused by volatile terpenes.
  • Greater sage-grouse are entirely dependent on sagebrush for food and shelter, and their populations mirror its health.
  • Some individual sagebrush plants can live over 150 years in undisturbed habitats.
  • Native Americans burned sagebrush as a smudge for purification ceremonies, a practice still widely observed today.

Color meanings

0

endurance

1

purification

2

wild spirit

Uses

  • ceremonial smudging
  • wildlife habitat
  • xeriscaping
  • essential oil production