Artemisia abrotanum — southern wormwood

Characteristics

• Flowers

  Bract color

  the bracts are not colored or tinged with pink, red or purple

  Bract cycle number

  there are three or more cycles of bracts

  Bract outer side hair type

  the bracts are hairy on their outer surfaces, with curled, tangled, matted, or woolly hairs

  Bract outer side hairs

  the bracts are hairy on their outer surfaces

  Bract separation

  the bracts appear completely unconnected to one another on all flower heads

  Bract shape

  • the main bracts are elliptic (widest near the middle and tapered towards the base and tip)
  • the main bracts are oblong (roughly rectangular but rounded at the ends)
  • the main bracts are ovate (egg-shaped)

  Bract spines

  the bracts have no spines

  Bract tip color

  the tips are a different color from the center of the bract

  Bracts

  there are at least two distinct forms of bracts in different cycles

  Disk flower color

  yellow

  Disk flower lobe number

  5

  Disk flower number

  11-20

  Disk flower reproductive parts

  • the disk flower has both pollen- and seed-producing parts
  • the disk flower has either only pollen- or only seed-producing parts

  Disk flower shape

  the disk flower is tube-shaped (cylindrical), or gradually widening like a funnel

  Flower head number

  each flowering stem has four or more flower heads on it

  Flower head outer flowers

  at the outer edge of the flower head, the flowers have no enlarged lobe or strap, and are of similar size as those in the center of the disk

  Flower head platform

  the base has no bristles or papery scales

  Flower head platform surface

  NA

  Flower head position

  some or all the flower heads are grouped in clusters of two or more

  Flower head profile

  • the disk is flat or nearly flat across the top
  • the disk is rounded across the top

  Flower head shape

  the sides of the flower head are roughly parallel, like a cylinder

  Flower head width

  3–4 mm

  Flower type in flower heads

  the flower head has tubular disk flowers in the center and ray flowers, these often strap-shaped, around the periphery

  Height of flower head base

  2–4 mm

  Inflorescence branching (Solidago)

  NA

  Inflorescence shape

  • the flower heads grow in clusters from the axils of the branches or leaves
  • the inflorescence is not flat-topped but appears rounded, with some flower heads distinctly higher than others

  Number of bracts at flower head base

  2–20

  Ovary attachment

  the ovary is attached at or near the base

  Ovary cross-section

  • the ovary has five or more corners in cross-section
  • the ovary is compressed (flattened)

  Ovary hair type

  the ovary has no hairs on it

  Ovary hairs

  the ovary has no hairs on it

  Ovary profile

  in profile, the ovary is roughly elliptical (widest in the middle, tapering to both ends)

  Ray flower color

  yellow

  Ray flower reproductive parts

  the ray flowers have carpels or stamens, but not both

  Ray flowers

  • 1-5
  • 11-15
  • 6-10

  Ray length

  0 mm

  Reproductive system

  some of the flowers on the plant have only carpels or stamens, while others have both carpels and stamens

  Scale tip

  NA

  Style branch number

  the style has two branches

  Style branches

  the style branch is wider at the tip and has a flattened end, or the style branches are wider at the tips and have flattened ends

  Width of flower head base

  1–2.5 mm

• Fruits or seeds

  Number of pappus parts

  0

  Ovary length in developed fruit

  0.5–1 mm

  Seed hair tuft bases

  NA

  Seed hair tuft color

  NA

  Seed hair tuft details

  NA

  Seed hair tuft length

  0 mm

  Seed hair tuft tips

  NA

  Seed hairs uniform

  NA

  Seed tuft scale number

  0

  Seed tuft type

  there is no pappus on the ovary

  Top of disk flower ovary

  NA

  Tuft or plume on fruit

  NA

• Glands or sap

  Leaf blade glands

  the leaf blades have glandular (translucent) dots or scales

  Ovary glands

  • there are glands on the ovary surface
  • there are no visible glands on the ovary

  Sap

  the sap is clear and watery

• Growth form

  Growth form

  • NA
  • the plant has one or more free-standing stems

  Plant lifespan

  the plant is perennial, it shows evidence of previous year's leaves, stems or stem bases

  Spines on plant

  the plant has no spines

  Underground organs

  the plant has a caudex (the root mass is firm and hardened at the top)

• Leaves

  Final leaf segment width (compound lvs only)

  0.5–1.5 mm

  Hairs on underside of leaf blade

  the underside of the leaf is fuzzy or hairy

  Hairs on upper side of leaf blade

  the upper side of the leaf is not hairy, or has very few hairs

  Leaf arrangement

  alternate: there is one leaf per node along the stem

  Leaf blade base

  the leaf has a distinct petiole

  Leaf blade base shape

  • the base of the leaf blade is cuneate (wedge-shaped, tapers to the base with relatively straight, converging edges), or narrow
  • the base of the leaf blade is truncate (ends abruptly in a more or less straight line as though cut off)

  Leaf blade bloom

  the underside of the leaf has no noticeable bloom

  Leaf blade edges

  • the edge of the leaf blade has lobes, or it has both teeth and lobes
  • the edge of the leaf blade has teeth

  Leaf blade flatness

  the edges of the leaf are curled under

  Leaf blade hairs

  the leaf blade has tangled or woolly-looking hairs

  Leaf blade length

  30–60 mm

  Leaf blade shape

  the leaf blade is triangular, with the stalk or attachment point on one of the sides

  Leaf blade surface colors

  there is no noticeable color variation on the upper surface of the leaf

  Leaf blade tip

  • the tip of the leaf blade is acute (sharply pointed)
  • the tip of the leaf blade is obtuse (bluntly pointed)

  Leaf blade width

  0.2–1.5 mm

  Leaf disposition

  the leaves are nearly similar in size, prominence of teeth, and length of stalks throughout the stem

  Leaf spines

  there are no spines on the leaf edges

  Leaf stalk

  the leaves have leaf stalks

  Leaf tip extension

  NA

  Leaf type

  leaves are simple (i.e., lobed or unlobed but not separated into leaflets)

  Specific leaf type

  • the leaf has a row of two or more lobes on each side of the central axis, and each lobe itself has rows of lobes on each side of the lobe's central axis
  • the leaf has lobes that themselves have lobes, and these secondary lobes also have lobes; there may be more than three levels of lobes

• Place

  Habitat

  terrestrial

  New England state

  • Connecticut
  • Maine
  • Massachusetts
  • Vermont

  Specific habitat

  man-made or disturbed habitats

• Scent

  Plant odor

  the plant has a pleasant odor, such as licorice, fruit or resin

• Stem, shoot, branch

  Flowering stem cross-section

  the flowering stem is circular, or with lots of small angles

  Leaves on stem

  there is at least one full leaf above the base of the flowering stem

  Stem internode hair direction

  • NA
  • the hairs point mostly upwards to outwards

  Stem internode hair type

  • the hairs on the stem are plain, without glands or branches, and not tangled
  • the stem has no hairs between the nodes

  Stem internode hairs

  • the stem has hairs between the nodes
  • the stem has no hairs between the nodes

Wetland status

Not classified

In New England

From Flora Novae Angliae dichotomous key