''Artemisia stelleriana'' is an

Asia Asia ( , ) is the largest continent in the world by both land area and population. It covers an area of more than 44 million square kilometres, about 30% of Earth's total land area and 8% of Earth's total surface area. The continent, which ...

n and

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 ...

n species of

plant Plants are the eukaryotes that form the Kingdom (biology), kingdom Plantae; they are predominantly Photosynthesis, photosynthetic. This means that they obtain their energy from sunlight, using chloroplasts derived from endosymbiosis with c ...

s in the sunflower family. It is native to

China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. With population of China, a population exceeding 1.4 billion, it is the list of countries by population (United Nations), second-most populous country after ...

( Heixiazi Island in

Heilongjiang Province Heilongjiang is a province in northeast China. It is the northernmost and easternmost province of the country and contains China's northernmost point (in Mohe City along the Amur) and easternmost point (at the confluence of the Amur and Ussu ...

Japan Japan is an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean off the northeast coast of the Asia, Asian mainland, it is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan and extends from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea ...

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Russian Far East The Russian Far East ( rus, Дальний Восток России, p=ˈdalʲnʲɪj vɐˈstok rɐˈsʲiɪ) is a region in North Asia. It is the easternmost part of Russia and the Asia, Asian continent, and is coextensive with the Far Easte ...

(

Sakhalin Sakhalin ( rus, Сахали́н, p=səxɐˈlʲin) is an island in Northeast Asia. Its north coast lies off the southeastern coast of Khabarovsk Krai in Russia, while its southern tip lies north of the Japanese island of Hokkaido. An islan ...

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Kamchatka Peninsula The Kamchatka Peninsula (, ) is a peninsula in the Russian Far East, with an area of about . The Pacific Ocean and the Sea of Okhotsk make up the peninsula's eastern and western coastlines, respectively. Immediately offshore along the Pacific ...

), and the

Aleutian Islands The Aleutian Islands ( ; ; , "land of the Aleuts"; possibly from the Chukchi language, Chukchi ''aliat'', or "island")—also called the Aleut Islands, Aleutic Islands, or, before Alaska Purchase, 1867, the Catherine Archipelago—are a chain ...

in the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

. The species is widely cultivated as an ornamental and naturalized in scattered locations in

, primarily on coastal dunes and other sandy locations, as well as in

Scandinavia Scandinavia is a subregion#Europe, subregion of northern Europe, with strong historical, cultural, and linguistic ties between its constituent peoples. ''Scandinavia'' most commonly refers to Denmark, Norway, and Sweden. It can sometimes also ...

. Common names include hoary mugwort, Dusty Miller, beach wormwood, and oldwoman.

Description

The

s have pale-green to white

leaves A leaf (: leaves) is a principal appendage of the stem of a vascular plant, usually borne laterally above ground and specialized for photosynthesis. Leaves are collectively called foliage, as in "autumn foliage", while the leaves, stem, ...

, which are covered on both surfaces with thick trichomes, giving a silver or whitish appearance. The yellow

flower Flowers, also known as blooms and blossoms, are the reproductive structures of flowering plants ( angiosperms). Typically, they are structured in four circular levels, called whorls, around the end of a stalk. These whorls include: calyx, m ...

s grow in tall clusters and bloom from July to late August. The species thrives in dry and hot climates.

Cultivars

A number of forms have been selected as garden cultivars. 'Boughton Silver' (aka 'Silver Brocade') is probably the best known cultivar. It is a prostrate form with prettily cut broad white leaves and was originally known as 'Mori's form'. English plantswoman Valerie Finnis (Lady Scott) was given this form by a Mr Mori during her honeymoon in Japan in 1970. It was distributed in UK mainly as 'Mori's form', but was also known as 'Boughton Silver' relating to her husband's garden at Boughton House, Northamptonshire. It was taken to Canada by Bruce McDonald and renamed 'Silver Brocade.' 'Nana' is a more erect (30 cm), but lax stemmed form with less deeply cut silverish leaves. It has been grown for many years in UK where it is used as a filler between other plants in the herbaceous border. 'Elsworth' is a taller (45 cm) more strongly erect stemmed form with more deeply cut silver leaves. It was selected by UK National Artemisia Collection Holder John Twibell c1990. 'Shemya' is a short form (30 cm) with silver green leaves, and was also selected by John Twibell c2013 This form was selected from seed originating from Shemya in the Aleutian Isles (Alaska, USA).

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q2862331 stelleriana Flora of Asia Flora of Alaska Plants described in 1834 Taxa named by Wilibald Swibert Joseph Gottlieb von Besser Flora without expected TNC conservation status