Asteraceae

Artemisia rigida

Stiff Sagebrush

Low mounding shrub, strongly scented. Stems woody, yellowish, hairy when young, becoming gray and shredding with age. Leaves deciduous, silver with dense short white hairs, 1/2–1 1/2 in. long, wider at tip, divided into 3–5 narrow lobes, or entire, long and thin. Inflorescence with leaves and bracts of bell-shaped, gray-haired cup surrounding and extending well beyond the flowers. Grows in dry rocky steppe lands, where it becomes dominant species.

• Rarity: Locally Common
• Flowering Time: Late Summer-Autumn
• Life Cycle: Perennial
• Height: to 24 inches
• Habitat: Shrub-Steppe
• Found In: East Gorge, Steens
• Native: Yes