Artemisia absinthium (Absinthium)

Plant Info
Also known as: Absinthe Wormwood
Genus:Artemisia
Family:Asteraceae (Aster)
Life cycle:perennial
Origin:Europe
Status:
  • Weedy
Habitat:sun; dry fields, along roads, waste areas
Bloom season:July - September
Plant height:2 to 4 feet
Wetland Indicator Status:none
MN county distribution (click map to enlarge):Minnesota county distribution map
National distribution (click map to enlarge):National distribution map

Pick an image for a larger view. See the glossary for icon descriptions.

Detailed Information

Flower: Flower shape: indistinct Cluster type: panicle Cluster type: raceme

[photo of flowers] Hundreds of short-stalked, ¼-inch, dull yellow, button-like flower heads in loosely arranged branching clusters on the upper portion of the plant. Flowers are petal-less with only dozens of tiny disk flowers in the center. Heads tend to droop down so the flowers are not always readily seen. Flower stalks and sepals are typically gray-green from dense, silky hairs.

Leaves: Leaf attachment: alternate Leaf attachment: basal Leaf type: lobed Leaf type: simple

[photo of stem leaves] Leaves are aromatic, 1 to 3 inches long and deeply lobed, the major lobes often further divided, the lobes narrow and rounded at the tip. Basal leaves are 2 or 3 times compound; basal and lower stem leaves typically wither away by flowering time. Color ranges from light green to olive green and usually looks silvery due to a dense covering of fine hairs, the leaf undersides pale to white, though may be less hairy and more green in moister soil. Stems are multiple from the base, branched, grooved, variously covered in fine hairs, and may be somewhat woody near the base.

Fruit: Fruit type: seed without plume

[photo of fruit] Fruit is a small dry seed without a tuft of hairs.

Notes:

A weedy species, Absinthium was once listed as a noxious weed in some Minnesota counties, considered an agricultural pest. Well, Round-up Ready crops took care of that problem and no one seems to care much about it now. It can create dense patches but does not seem to invade high quality habitat, mostly found in degraded fields and pastures, and the dry, disturbed soils of roadsides, railroad rights-of-way, and empty lots. First recorded in the 1890s, it is widespread in the state but likely still under-reported. Similar is White Sage (Artemisia ludoviciana), which also has gray-green, aromatic foliage, but its leaves are not divided and are more pleasantly fragrant. The leaves of Common Mugwort (A. vulgaris) are less finely divided and have more wedge-shaped lobes, and the leaves of other Artemisia species have narrower, more thread-like lobes. The leaves also somewhat resemble the Ragweeds (Ambrosia spp.) but they lack the silvery color and the lower leaves persist through fruiting. The button-like yellow flowers are similar to Tansy (Tanacetum vulgare), which has larger flowers in flat clusters.

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More photos

Photos by K. Chayka taken at Long Lake Regional Park, Ramsey County. Photos courtesy Peter M. Dziuk taken in Chisago, Isanti and Ramsey counties.

Comments

Have you seen this plant in Minnesota, or have any other comments about it?

Posted by: Mark Monahan-Rial - St Paul
on: 2021-05-23 15:24:05

Found in open spaces south of Hidden Falls. Vary aromatic.

Posted by: luciearl - Lake Shore, Cass County
on: 2021-07-22 10:28:40

Grows along the trail, Cty Rd.77. Many non-natives and invasives showed after completion of the trail.

Posted by: Dr. Michael W. Fox - Golden Valley Sochacki Community Park
on: 2023-08-03 10:47:15

A sage-like plant growing on the right side of the path going north just past the Sochacki Community Park sign in Golden Valley. Currently in bloom. Super-potent taste!! Damn this and other cities spraying herbicides that include glyphosate/Roundup along the trails and at the edge of waterways. Stupidity has no bounds.

Posted by: Karen Obermiller - SE Otter Tail County Elmo township
on: 2023-09-13 15:22:43

Unfortunately it has invaded my front pasture and keeping it chopped before the flowers mature isn't easy -- but I also kinda like it anyway. There is also one more artemesia that I need to ID.

Posted by: Zeb Lamp - Clay County
on: 2024-01-08 13:20:47

This was one of the few things still growing in our sandy yard last summer, when it was so hot and dry. It releases a nice aroma when the mower cuts it down.

Posted by: Duane M. Madison - Duluth and the Arrowhead region
on: 2024-08-19 13:38:11

First found it growing in a vacant lot in Ely, MN about 1970.I brought a sprig into the house and asked grandma Mary what it was. She called it Palin, the old country (Slovenian) name and said that her brother-in-law made tea from it to soothe his upset stomach. Don't know if it helped him or killed him. He died from a ruptured appendix. Last (2023) there was acres of it in the railroad yards at Duluth. This year it is hard to find. Perhaps it was sprayed? I like to keep some on hand for an incense smudge. As for being an invasive species, I also am a member of a highly invasive species of which it should be illegal to harbor or propagate.

Posted by: k - Paynseville, Sterns County
on: 2024-09-10 05:40:00

Lots of this is growing around Lake Koronis. Never seen it here before until this summer.

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