[Sagebrush: The Genus Artemisia East of the Cascade Mts. of Oregon and Washington]
Hoary Sagebrush, Silver Sage, Silver sagebrush
Artemisia cana ssp. bolanderi
Synonyms: Artemisia bolanderi, Artemisia tridentata ssp. bolanderi, Artemisia tridentata var. bolanderi, Seriphidium canum ssp. bolanderi
Silver sagebrush as seen along Forest Service Road #1647 in southeastern Logan Valley, Malheur National Forest...........August 3, 2011.
Silver sage? as seen
at the radio tower atop Gordon Ridge, directly southeast from the mouth of the
Deschutes River, Columbia River Gorge........April 23, 2000.
Characteristics:
Also known as hoary sagebrush, silver sage is branched, rounded
shrub from 50-120 cm high. The plants spread underground and can rapidly grow
back after fire. The leaves are broadly linear to linear-oblong in shape and
are covered with a dense, silvery covering of short hairs (as seen in the photos).
The leaves range from 3-6 cm long and 1.5 -5 mm long. They usually have entire
margins, although some may have one or two lateral lobes.
The inflorescence consists of numerous leafy panicles. The panicles
range from 10-30 cm long. The involucres are 4-5 mm high. All the bracts are
often tomentose, or the leafy outermost bracts may be tomentose while the ovate
to orbicular-shaped mid and inner bracts may be glabrous. The flower heads consist
of 8-15 discoid flowers.
Habitat:
Silver sage may be found in dry to moderately moist meadows
and bottomlands, often soils with poorer drainage.
Range:
Silver sage may be found to the east of the Cascade Mts. from
central Oregon south into California (to the east of the Sierra Nevada) and
east through central Idaho to southern Saskatchewan, Nebraska, Colorado, and
northern Arizona.
- -
-
- -
Silver sagebrush as seen along Forest Service Road #1647 in southeastern Logan Valley, Malheur National Forest..........August 3, 2011.
-
-
Additional examples of silver sagebrush as seen at the edges of meadows west of FS Road #4215 in Antler Prairie, Ochoco National Forest...........May 27, 2016.
Sagebrush sponge galls (Rhopalonyia sp.) on silver sagebrush (Artemisia cana) along Forest Road 3915 several miles north of the California border, Mount Bidwell Recreation Area......July 18, 2022.
- -
Silver sage? as seen at the radio tower atop Gordon Ridge, directly southeast
from the mouth of the Deschutes River, ........April 23, 2000. I have yet
to see this plant in bloom, and it is not supposed to be found near the Columbia
River Gorge, so if this isn't silver sage, I'd appreciate any ideas on what
it would be.
Paul Slichter