Artemisia absinthium (Absinthium)
Also known as: | Absinthe Wormwood |
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Genus: | Artemisia |
Family: | Asteraceae (Aster) |
Life cycle: | perennial |
Origin: | Europe |
Status: |
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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): | |
National distribution (click map to enlarge): |
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Detailed Information
Flower:
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:
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 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
- Absinthium plants
- Absinthium plant
- a clump of Absinthium
- a mass of Absinthium
- early growth
- basal leaves
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?
on: 2021-05-23 15:24:05
Found in open spaces south of Hidden Falls. Vary aromatic.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
on: 2024-09-10 05:40:00
Lots of this is growing around Lake Koronis. Never seen it here before until this summer.