Participant Info

Species

Artemisia dracunculus [Artemisia dracunculina] [Artemisia dracunculoides] [Artemisia glauca]

Family

Asteraceae

CommonName

wild tarragon, wormwood, dragon sagewort

Presence

Yes

Status

native

EarliestDate

1916

LatestDate

2020

Ecosystem

basin, shrubland, foothill, montane, subalpine, ruderal, urban

Geobotanical

SSawatch, Garitas, SSanjuans, NCristos, UBasin, LBasin

Counties

Alamosa, Conejos, Costilla, Hinsdale, Mineral, Rio Grande, Saguache

Passes

Cochetopa, La Veta

WildlifePreserves

Baca, Great Sand Dunes

Other Localities

Alamosa (town), Del Norte

PhotoRecords

YES Rich Haswell: Rio Grande Co, Del Norte, within town limits, beside street, 20 July 2020

Comments

Wormwood is a very common artemisia in the Watershed, from basin to subalpine, often found on disturbed ground—unpaved back alleys, road sides, trail sides, etc. Artemisia dracunculus is not recorded from the Culebras of the Watershed but is likely present there, since it has often been collected from the Rio Grande Cristos of New Mexico. It is present in every state west of the Mississippi River, and follows the Rio Grande drainage through New Mexico and a little past the Big Bend county of Texas. By the way, don't expect wild tarragon to have the aroma and taste of cultivated or French tarragon (A. dracunculus var. sativa), which is grown from root stock since its flowers are sterile.

Annotation