Artemisia nesiotica

Artemisia nesiotica is a rare California species of sagebrush in the daisy family, known by the common name island sagebrush. It is endemic to the Channel Islands of California, found on 3 of the 8 islands.

Description

Artemisia nesiotica is a small shrub growing up to about 50 cm tall and generally rounded in shape. It produces several thin, upright stems from a woody base. The foliage is made up of woolly leaves divided into many thin, flat, threadlike segments. The inflorescence is a narrow cluster of several flower heads. The fruit is a tiny resinous achene with a pappus of hairs.

Etymology

The earliest name given to the plaint was Crossostephium insulare, coined by Per Axel Rydberg in 1916. In 1935, Philip Alexander Munz declared this to be a variety of Artemisia californica. Peter Raven later wanted to recognize the Channel Island plants as a distinct species within Artemisia, but the name Artemisia insularis had already been used for a Kuril Islands plant in 1936. Hence Raven's new name, ''Artemisia nesiotica.''