''Artemisia filifolia'', known by

common name In biology, a common name of a taxon or organism (also known as a vernacular name, English name, colloquial name, country name, popular name, or farmer's name) is a name that is based on the normal language of everyday life; and is often con ...

s including sand sagebrush, sand sage and sandhill sage, is a

species A species () is often defined as the largest group of organisms in which any two individuals of the appropriate sexes or mating types can produce fertile offspring, typically by sexual reproduction. It is the basic unit of Taxonomy (biology), ...

of flowering plant in the aster family.Flora of North America Vol. 19, 20 and 21 Page 508 Sand sage ''Artemisia filifolia'' Torrey, Ann. Lyceum Nat. Hist. New York. 2: 211. 1827.
/ref> It is native to

North America North America is a continent in the Northern Hemisphere, Northern and Western Hemisphere, Western hemispheres. North America is bordered to the north by the Arctic Ocean, to the east by the Atlantic Ocean, to the southeast by South Ameri ...

, where it occurs from

Nevada Nevada ( ; ) is a landlocked state in the Western United States. It borders Oregon to the northwest, Idaho to the northeast, California to the west, Arizona to the southeast, and Utah to the east. Nevada is the seventh-most extensive, th ...

east to

South Dakota South Dakota (; Sioux language, Sioux: , ) is a U.S. state, state in the West North Central states, North Central region of the United States. It is also part of the Great Plains. South Dakota is named after the Dakota people, Dakota Sioux ...

and from there south to

Arizona Arizona is a U.S. state, state in the Southwestern United States, Southwestern region of the United States, sharing the Four Corners region of the western United States with Colorado, New Mexico, and Utah. It also borders Nevada to the nort ...

, Chihuahua, and

Texas Texas ( , ; or ) is the most populous U.S. state, state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. It borders Louisiana to the east, Arkansas to the northeast, Oklahoma to the north, New Mexico to the we ...

.McWilliams, Jack (2003)
''Artemisia filifolia''.
In: Fire Effects Information System, nline U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Rocky Mountain Research Station, Fire Sciences Laboratory. Retrieved 12-26-2011.

Description

''Artemisia filifolia'' is a branching woody

shrub A shrub or bush is a small to medium-sized perennial woody plant. Unlike herbaceous plants, shrubs have persistent woody stems above the ground. Shrubs can be either deciduous or evergreen. They are distinguished from trees by their multiple ...

growing up to tall. The stems are covered narrow, threadlike leaves up to long and no more than half a millimeter wide. The leaves are sometimes split into segments. They are solitary or arranged in fascicles. The

inflorescence In botany, an inflorescence is a group or cluster of flowers arranged on a plant's Plant stem, stem that is composed of a main branch or a system of branches. An inflorescence is categorized on the basis of the arrangement of flowers on a mai ...

is a

panicle In botany, a panicle is a much-branched inflorescence. (softcover ). Some authors distinguish it from a compound spike inflorescence, by requiring that the flowers (and fruit) be pedicellate (having a single stem per flower). The branches of a p ...

of hanging

flower heads A pseudanthium (; : pseudanthia) is an inflorescence that resembles a flower. The word is sometimes used for other structures that are neither a true flower nor a true inflorescence. Examples of pseudanthia include flower heads, composite flowers ...

. Each head contains sterile disc florets and 2 to 3 fertile ray florets. The fruit is a tiny

achene An achene (; ), also sometimes called akene and occasionally achenium or achenocarp, is a type of simple fruit, simple dry fruits, dry fruit produced by many species of flowering plants. Achenes are monocarpellate (formed from one carpel) and Dehi ...

. The achenes do not tend to disperse far from the parent plant. The leaf color is grayish-green. The flower color is either yellow or brown. The bloom time is between the months of August, September, October, and November.

Ecology

''Artemisia filifolia'' is a dominant species across much of the west-central United States, particularly in areas where the substrate is a deep, sandy soil. It is an

indicator Indicator may refer to: Biology * Environmental indicator of environmental health (pressures, conditions and responses) * Ecological indicator of ecosystem health (ecological processes) * Health indicator, which is used to describe the health o ...

of sandy soils. It is efficient for preventing erosion on such soils.Sand Sagebrush.
Range Plants of Utah. Utah State University. Retrieved 12-26-2011. It is common in parts of the

Great Plains The Great Plains is a broad expanse of plain, flatland in North America. The region stretches east of the Rocky Mountains, much of it covered in prairie, steppe, and grassland. They are the western part of the Interior Plains, which include th ...

, where it is a dominant component of

prairie Prairies are ecosystems considered part of the temperate grasslands, savannas, and shrublands biome by ecologists, based on similar temperate climates, moderate rainfall, and a composition of grasses, herbs, and shrubs, rather than trees, as the ...

grassland A grassland is an area where the vegetation is dominance (ecology), dominated by grasses (Poaceae). However, sedge (Cyperaceae) and rush (Juncaceae) can also be found along with variable proportions of legumes such as clover, and other Herbaceo ...

, and

shrubland Shrubland, scrubland, scrub, brush, or bush is a plant community characterized by vegetation dominance (ecology), dominated by shrubs, often also including grasses, herbaceous plant, herbs, and geophytes. Shrubland may either occur naturally o ...

ecosystems alongside

grass Poaceae ( ), also called Gramineae ( ), is a large and nearly ubiquitous family (biology), family of monocotyledonous flowering plants commonly known as grasses. It includes the cereal grasses, bamboos, the grasses of natural grassland and spe ...

es such as sand bluestem, grama grasses, sand reedgrass, little bluestem, and sand dropseed.Western Great Plains Sandhill Shrubland.
Ecosystems. Colorado State. Retrieved 12-26-2011. Some regions dominated by this sagebrush include the occurrences of the sandsage prairie from Nebraska to central

, various river systems in eastern

Colorado Colorado is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States. It is one of the Mountain states, sharing the Four Corners region with Arizona, New Mexico, and Utah. It is also bordered by Wyoming to the north, Nebraska to the northeast, Kansas ...

and

Kansas Kansas ( ) is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders Nebraska to the north; Missouri to the east; Oklahoma to the south; and Colorado to the west. Kansas is named a ...

, the

sandhill A sandhill is a type of ecological community or xeric wildfire-maintained ecosystem. It is not the same as a sand dune. It features very short fire return intervals, one to five years. Without fire, sandhills undergo ecological succession and b ...

s and mixed-grass prairies of Colorado, and parts of southeastern

Wyoming Wyoming ( ) is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Mountain states, Mountain West subregion of the Western United States, Western United States. It borders Montana to the north and northwest, South Dakota and Nebraska to the east, Idaho t ...

. In Texas, it is common in the Trans-Pecos region, where it grows with

honey mesquite ''Neltuma glandulosa'', formerly ''Prosopis glandulosa'', commonly known as honey mesquite, is a species of small to medium-sized, thorny shrub or tree in the legume family (Fabaceae). Distribution The plant is primarily native to the Southwes ...

, and many other areas in the state where it grows with sand shinnery oak. This ecosystem is most commonly affected by

fire Fire is the rapid oxidation of a fuel in the exothermic chemical process of combustion, releasing heat, light, and various reaction Product (chemistry), products. Flames, the most visible portion of the fire, are produced in the combustion re ...

and

grazing In agriculture, grazing is a method of animal husbandry whereby domestic livestock are allowed outdoors to free range (roam around) and consume wild vegetations in order to feed conversion ratio, convert the otherwise indigestible (by human diges ...

. Before modern fire suppression, the ecosystem was maintained by a pattern of disturbance caused by natural wildfire and grazing by

bison A bison (: bison) is a large bovine in the genus ''Bison'' (from Greek, meaning 'wild ox') within the tribe Bovini. Two extant taxon, extant and numerous extinction, extinct species are recognised. Of the two surviving species, the American ...

, a pattern which is called '' pyric herbivory''.

Rangeland impact

When humans began to use this terrain as

rangeland Rangelands are grasslands, shrublands, woodlands, wetlands, and deserts that are grazed by domestic livestock or wild animals. Types of rangelands include tallgrass and shortgrass prairies, desert grasslands and shrublands, woodlands, savanna ...

, this system was altered, causing a homogenization of life forms in the habitat.Doxon, E. D., et al. (2011)
Aboveground macroinvertebrate diversity and abundance in sand sagebrush prairie managed with the use of pyric herbivory.
''Rangeland Ecol Manage.'' 64 394-403. Retrieved 12-26-2011. A balanced regime of fire and grazing is required to sustain the

biodiversity Biodiversity is the variability of life, life on Earth. It can be measured on various levels. There is for example genetic variability, species diversity, ecosystem diversity and Phylogenetics, phylogenetic diversity. Diversity is not distribut ...

of this type of rangeland.Winter, S. L., et al. (2011)
Restoration of the fire–grazing interaction in ''Artemisia filifolia'' shrubland.
''Journal of Applied Ecology.'' Online preview. Retrieved 12-26-2011. Fire also helps prevent the succession of woody vegetation onto shrublands. The sagebrush is tolerant of fire, resprouting vigorously after its aboveground parts are burned away.Vermeire, L. T., et al
Sand sagebrush response to fall and spring prescribed burning.
In: McArthur, E. Durant, et al. comps. (2001). Shrubland ecosystem genetics and biodiversity: proceedings; 2000 June 13–15; Provo, UT. Proc. RMRS-P-21. Ogden, UT: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Rocky Mountain Research Station. Retrieved 12-26-2011.

Ecosystem

Sand sagebrush ecosystems are important habitat types for many animals.

Prairie dog Prairie dogs (genus ''Cynomys'') are herbivorous burrowing Marmotini, ground squirrels native to the grasslands of North America. There are five recognized species of prairie dog: black-tailed prairie dog, black-tailed, white-tailed prairie dog ...

s build towns in sandy sage grassland, and when they abandon them,

burrowing owl The burrowing owl (''Athene cunicularia''), also called the shoco, is a small, long-legged, primarily terrestrial—though not flightless—species of owl native to the open landscapes of North and South America. They are typically found in gra ...

s move in. Sage grouse live in sand sagebrush, though they prefer big sagebrush. Some animals eat the seeds, such as lesser prairie chickens and scaled quail. Lesser prairie chickens also use it for cover and nesting purposes. Extensive removal of sand sagebrush has been shown to reduce the diversity and abundance of breeding birds in the habitat.Rodgers, R. D. and M. L. Sexson. (1990)
Impacts of extensive chemical control of sand sagebrush on breeding birds.
''Journal of Soil and Water Conservation.'' 45(4) 494-97. Retrieved 12-26-2011. Despite its importance in numerous ecosystems, this sagebrush can become a troublesome

weed A weed is a plant considered undesirable in a particular situation, growing where it conflicts with human preferences, needs, or goals.Harlan, J. R., & deWet, J. M. (1965). Some thoughts about weeds. ''Economic botany'', ''19''(1), 16-24. Pla ...

.Wilson, R. G. (1989)
Sand sagebrush (''Artemisia filifolia'') and brittle pricklypear (''Opuntia fragilis'') control.
''Weed Technology'' 3(2) 272-74. Retrieved 12-26-2011. One method of control is burning, then placing livestock where they will graze the new sprouts as they come up. It is also controlled with

herbicide Herbicides (, ), also commonly known as weed killers, are substances used to control undesired plants, also known as weeds.EPA. February 201Pesticides Industry. Sales and Usage 2006 and 2007: Market Estimates. Summary in press releasMain page f ...

s and

mowing A mower is a person or machine that cuts (mows) grass or other plants that grow on the ground. Usually mowing is distinguished from reaping, which uses similar implements, but is the traditional term for harvesting grain crops, e.g. with reaper ...

Commercial use

Sand sagebrush seed is sold commercially. It is sometimes used for

revegetation Revegetation is the process of replanting and rebuilding the soil of disturbed land. This may be a natural process produced by plant colonization and succession, manmade rewilding projects, accelerated process designed to repair damage to a la ...

efforts on

and coalfields. The

Navajo The Navajo or Diné are an Indigenous people of the Southwestern United States. Their traditional language is Diné bizaad, a Southern Athabascan language. The states with the largest Diné populations are Arizona (140,263) and New Mexico (1 ...

had several uses for the plant. It was used medicinally and for ritual purposes. Being quite soft, it was used as

toilet paper Toilet paper (sometimes called toilet/bath/bathroom tissue, or toilet roll) is a tissue paper product primarily used to clean the human anus, anus and surrounding region of Human feces, feces (after defecation), and to clean the external gen ...

.''Artemisia filifolia''.
University of Michigan Ethnobotany. Retrieved 12-26-2011.

References

External links

Medicinal Plants of the SouthwestUtah State University, Range Plants of Utah
* ttps://web.archive.org/web/20150923190415/http://www.biosurvey.ou.edu/shrub/arfi2.htm Oklahoma Biological Survey {{Authority control filifolia Plants described in 1828 Plants used in traditional Native American medicine Flora of Northern America