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Wildlife, Animals, and Plants
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Introductory
SPECIES: Artemisia dracunculus | Tarragon
ABBREVIATION :
ARTDRA
SYNONYMS :
Artemisia glauca Pallas
Artemisia dracunculoides Pursh
SCS PLANT CODE :
ARDR4
COMMON NAMES :
tarragon
false tarragon
dragon sagewort
silky wormwood
terragon
linear-leaved wormwood
TAXONOMY :
The fully documented scientific name of tarragon is Artemisia
dracunculus L. This species exhibits considerable morophological
variation. Although recent taxonomic treatments have not been
completed, three to five subspecific entities have been previously
described [23]. The taxonomy presented here follows that of Cronquist
[2] who does not recognize any subspecies or forms in the Pacific
Northwest. Plants indigenous to North America are indistinguishable
from the Eurasian form, Artemisia glauca. Two weakly defined subspecies
have been described for Colorado [10].
LIFE FORM :
Forb
FEDERAL LEGAL STATUS :
No special status
OTHER STATUS :
NO-ENTRY
COMPILED BY AND DATE :
N. McMurray/ March 1987
LAST REVISED BY AND DATE :
NO-ENTRY
AUTHORSHIP AND CITATION :
McMurray, Nancy E. 1987. Artemisia dracunculus. In: Remainder of Citation
DISTRIBUTION AND OCCURRENCE
SPECIES: Artemisia dracunculus | Tarragon
GENERAL DISTRIBUTION :
Although primarily a species of the Missouri River drainage, tarragon is
considered one of the most common of the herbaceous sagebrush in the
western United States [3]. This species is widely distributed from the
Yukon, British Columbia, and Washington, south to Baja California, and
eastward to Illinois, Texas, and northern Mexico. In the Pacific
Northwest, its range is typically east of the Cascade Range [2].
ECOSYSTEMS :
FRES15 Oak - hickory
FRES21 Ponderosa pine
FRES23 Fir - spruce
FRES29 Sagebrush
FRES30 Desert shrub
FRES34 Chaparral - mountain shrub
FRES35 Pinyon - juniper
FRES36 Mountain grasslands
FRES38 Plains grasslands
FRES39 Prairie
FRES40 Desert grasslands
STATES :
AZ AR CA CO ID IL IA KS MN MO
MT NE NV NM ND OK OR SD TX UT
WA WI WY AB BC MB SK YT MEXICO
ADMINISTRATIVE UNITS :
AGFO BICA CARE COLM CODA CRMO
DEVA DETO DINO FOBU GLAC GRCA
GRTE GRSA JOTR MEVE NABR PINN
ROMO SAMO THRO TICA WICA YELL
ZION
BLM PHYSIOGRAPHIC REGIONS :
3 Southern Pacific Border
4 Sierra Mountains
5 Columbia Plateau
6 Upper Basin and Range
7 Lower Basin and Range
8 Northern Rocky Mountains
9 Middle Rocky Mountains
10 Wyoming Basin
11 Southern Rocky Mountains
12 Colorado Plateau
13 Rocky Mountain Piedmont
14 Great Plains
15 Black Hills Uplift
16 Upper Missouri Basin and Broken Lands
KUCHLER PLANT ASSOCIATIONS :
K015 Western spruce - fir forest
K016 Eastern ponderosa forest
K017 Black Hills pine forest
K018 Pine - Douglas-fir forest
K019 Arizona pine forest
K023 Juniper - pinyon woodland
K037 Mountain mahogany - oak scrub
K038 Great Basin sagebrush
K040 Saltbush - greasewood
K051 Wheatgrass - bluegrass
K055 Sagebrush steppe
K056 Wheatgrass - needlegrass shrubsteppe
K057 Galleta - three-awn shrubsteppe
K063 Foothills prairie
K064 Grama - needlegrass - wheatgrass
K065 Grama - buffalograss
K066 Wheatgrass - needlegrass
K067 Wheatgrass - bluestem - needlegrass
K070 Sandsage - bluestem prairie
K074 Bluestem prairie
K075 Nebraska Sandhills prairie
K081 Oak savanna
SAF COVER TYPES :
206 Engelmann spruce - subalpine fir
210 Interior Douglas-fir
217 Aspen
219 Limber pine
237 Interior ponderosa pine
239 Pinyon - juniper
SRM (RANGELAND) COVER TYPES :
NO-ENTRY
HABITAT TYPES AND PLANT COMMUNITIES :
Tarragon is a minor seral species within a variety of nonforested and
forested communities throughout the western United States. Mueggler and
Stewart [15] report its presence in a number of grassland and shrubland
habitat types in Montana including those within the rough fescue
(Festuca scabrella), bluebunch wheatgrass (Pseudoroegneria spicata), big
sagebrush (Artemisia tridentata), bitterbrush (Purshia tridentata), and
skunkbush sumac (Rhus trilobata) series. In forested habitat types it
occurs as an understory species within the limber pine (Pinus flexilis),
ponderosa pine (Pinus ponderosa), and Douglas-fir (Pseudotsuga
menziesii) series [16].
VALUE AND USE
SPECIES: Artemisia dracunculus | Tarragon
WOOD PRODUCTS VALUE :
NO-ENTRY
IMPORTANCE TO LIVESTOCK AND WILDLIFE :
Tarragon has limited value as a forage species. It may be of seasonal
importance to domestic sheep, mule deer, and other game animals [3,12].
Plants generally increase in response to grazing pressure on native
grasssland sites in Montana [18].
PALATABILITY :
Following frost, this species becomes a preferred domestic sheep forage
in portions of Idaho and Utah; apparently the fruiting heads are highly
palatable [21]. The palatability and degree of use shown by livestock
and wildlife species for false tarragon in several western states is
rated as follows [4]:
CO MT ND UT WY
Cattle Poor Poor Poor Fair Poor
Sheep Fair Fair Fair Good Fair
Horses Poor Poor Poor Poor Poor
Pronghorn ---- Poor Poor Fair ----
Elk Poor Poor ---- Fair ----
Mule deer Poor Poor Poor Good ----
Small mammals ---- ---- ---- Fair ----
Small nongame birds ---- ---- ---- Fair ----
Upland game birds ---- ---- ---- Fair ----
Waterfowl ---- ---- ---- Poor ----
NUTRITIONAL VALUE :
Tarragon has been rated as fair in both energy and protein value [4].
COVER VALUE :
The degree to which tarragon provides environmental protection during
one or more seasons for wildlife species is as follows [4]:
CO ND UT
Pronghorn ---- Fair Poor
Elk ---- ---- Poor
Mule deer ---- Fair Poor
White-tailed deer ---- Poor ----
Small mammals Fair ---- Good
Small nongame birds Poor ---- Fair
Upland game birds ---- ---- Poor
Waterfowl Poor ---- ----
VALUE FOR REHABILITATION OF DISTURBED SITES :
NO-ENTRY
OTHER USES AND VALUES :
Tarragon is widely used as a seasoning and also as an herb for flavoring
vinegar [14].
MANAGEMENT CONSIDERATIONS :
NO-ENTRY
BOTANICAL AND ECOLOGICAL CHARACTERISTICS
SPECIES: Artemisia dracunculus | Tarragon
GENERAL BOTANICAL CHARACTERISTICS :
Tarragon is a native, variously fragrant to inodorous, usually
glabrescent, shortly rhizomatous, warm-season, perennial forb, typically
ranging in height from 19.5 to 58.5 inches (50-150 cm) [2,9,23]. Stems
are often reddish and originate in clusters or sometimes singly from a
distinct, nearly woody rhizome [8]. Leaves are usually at least
partially deciduous by fall. The infloresence is an open panicle.
Outer flowers are pistillate and fertile; disk flowers are sterile with
an abortive ovary.
RAUNKIAER LIFE FORM :
Geophyte
REGENERATION PROCESSES :
Tarragon regenerates both sexually and vegetatively. Numerous,
wind-dispersed achenes are produced in the fall. Perennating buds are
located on a stout, somewhat woody rhizome. The degree to which new
plants are established through rhizome intiation is unclear. This
species does not appear to spread rapidly through creeping rhizomes.
Rhizome initiation in a morophologically similar herbaceous sagebrush,
Louisiana sagewort (Artemisia ludoviciana), is extensive; however, this
characteristic is highly variable among ecotypes [10,20].
SITE CHARACTERISTICS :
Tarragon is a somewhat weedy species which is not exacting in its site
requirements. Typical habitats include dry, open sites from the low
plains to moderate elevations in the mountains [2]. Plants invade
disturbed sites throughout a variety of nonforested and forested
communities and are often found growing along roadways and similar
anthropogenic sites. Dix [5] reports tarragon growing on disturbed
sandy soils in western North Dakota. Generally plants occur in
scattered amounts and rarely dominate extensive areas.
Elevational ranges for several western states is follows [4]:
5,000 to 10,300 feet (1,524-3,140 m) in CO
3,000 to 6,900 feet (915-2,104 m) in MT
4,900 to 11,000 feet (1,494-3,354 m) in UT
3,700 to 8,400 feet (1,128-2,561 m) in WY
SUCCESSIONAL STATUS :
Tarragon is a pioneer species. It invades disturbed sites in a wide
variety of nonforested and forested communities. Although densities are
typically low on most sites, frequencies appear to increase where
disturbance results in decreased species competition [5].
SEASONAL DEVELOPMENT :
Tarragon flowers from July through October throughout its range [2,4].
FIRE ECOLOGY
SPECIES: Artemisia dracunculus | Tarragon
FIRE ECOLOGY OR ADAPTATIONS :
Although plants are readily top-killed by all fire intensities, this
species appears somewhat resistant to fire mortality [5]. Plants are
probably able to reestablish rapidly via surviving rhizomes and the
germination of numerous, wind-dispersed seed.
POSTFIRE REGENERATION STRATEGY :
Rhizomatous herb, rhizome in soil
Initial-offsite colonizer (offsite, initial community)
FIRE EFFECTS
SPECIES: Artemisia dracunculus | Tarragon
IMMEDIATE FIRE EFFECT ON PLANT :
Tarragon is easily top-killed by low-intensity fires. The presence of
underground rhizomes suggests that the majority of individuals are
somewhat resistant to fire mortality.
DISCUSSION AND QUALIFICATION OF FIRE EFFECT :
NO-ENTRY
PLANT RESPONSE TO FIRE :
Limited fire response data for tarragon indicates that preburn densites
are regained immediately following burning. Dix [5] conducted burns on
sandy upland sites in the mixed-grass prairie of North Dakota. He
reported that tarragon frequencies on burned sites equaled those on
unburned sites in less than 3 months after a spring burn [5]. On
similar sites tarragon increased substantially within 4 years of a late
August burn. Dix suggested that tarragon was able to increase
dramatically due to the loss in vigor of associated species. It is
unclear whether increases in tarragon frequencies resulted via the
germination of off-site seed, from seedlings established via on-site
residual plants, or from rhizome sprouting.
DISCUSSION AND QUALIFICATION OF PLANT RESPONSE :
NO-ENTRY
FIRE MANAGEMENT CONSIDERATIONS :
NO-ENTRY
REFERENCES
SPECIES: Artemisia dracunculus | Tarragon
REFERENCES :
1. Bernard, Stephen R.; Brown, Kenneth F. 1977. Distribution of mammals,
reptiles, and amphibians by BLM physiographic regions and A.W. Kuchler's
associations for the eleven western states. Tech. Note 301. Denver, CO:
U.S. Department of the Interior, Bureau of Land Management. 169 p.
[434]
2. Cronquist, Arthur. 1955. Vascular plants of the Pacific Northwest: Part
5: Compositae. Seattle: University of Washington Press. 343 p. [716]
3. Dayton, William A. 1931. Important western browse plants. Misc. Publ.
101. Washington, DC: U.S. Department of Agriculture. 214 p. [768]
4. Dittberner, Phillip L.; Olson, Michael R. 1983. The plant information
network (PIN) data base: Colorado, Montana, North Dakota, Utah, and
Wyoming. FWS/OBS-83/86. Washington, DC: U.S. Department of the Interior,
Fish and Wildlife Service. 786 p. [806]
5. Dix, Ralph L. 1960. The effects of burning on the mulch structure and
species composition of grasslands in western North Dakota. Ecology.
41(1): 49-56. [808]
6. Eyre, F. H., ed. 1980. Forest cover types of the United States and
Canada. Washington, DC: Society of American Foresters. 148 p. [905]
7. Garrison, George A.; Bjugstad, Ardell J.; Duncan, Don A.; [and others].
1977. Vegetation and environmental features of forest and range
ecosystems. Agric. Handb. 475. Washington, DC: U.S. Department of
Agriculture, Forest Service. 68 p. [998]
8. Great Plains Flora Association. 1986. Flora of the Great Plains.
Lawrence, KS: University Press of Kansas. 1392 p. [1603]
9. Grime, J. P. 1979. Plant strategies & vegetation proceses. Chichester,
England: John Wiley & Sons. 222 p. [2896]
10. Harrington, H. D. 1964. Manual of the plants of Colorado. 2d ed.
Chicago: The Swallow Press Inc. 666 p. [6851]
11. Kuchler, A. W. 1964. Manual to accompany the map of potential vegetation
of the conterminous United States. Special Publication No. 36. New York:
American Geographical Society. 77 p. [1384]
12. Kufeld, Roland C.; Wallmo, O. C.; Feddema, Charles. 1973. Foods of the
Rocky Mountain mule deer. Res. Pap. RM-111. Fort Collins, CO: U.S.
Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Rocky Mountain Forest and
Range Experiment Station. 31 p. [1387]
13. Stickney, Peter F. 1989. Seral origin of species originating in northern
Rocky Mountain forests. Unpublished draft on file at: U.S. Department of
Agriculture, Forest Service, Intermountain Research Station, Fire
Sciences Laboratory, Missoula, MT; RWU 4403 files. 7 p. [20090]
14. McArthur, E. Durant; Blauer, A. Clyde; Plummer, A. Perry; Stevens,
Richard. 1979. Characteristics and hybridization of important
Intermountain shrubs. III. Sunflower family. Res. Pap. INT-220. Ogden,
UT: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Intermountain Forest
and Range Experiment Station. 82 p. [1571]
15. Mueggler, W. F.; Stewart, W. L. 1980. Grassland and shrubland habitat
types of western Montana. Gen. Tech. Rep. INT-66. Ogden, UT: U.S.
Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Intermountain Forest and
Range Experiment Station. 154 p. [1717]
16. Pfister, Robert D.; Kovalchik, Bernard L.; Arno, Stephen F.; Presby,
Richard C. 1977. Forest habitat types of Montana. Gen. Tech. Rep.
INT-34. Ogden, UT: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service,
Intermountain Forest and Range Experiment Station. 174 p. [1878]
17. Raunkiaer, C. 1934. The life forms of plants and statistical plant
geography. Oxford: Clarendon Press. 632 p. [2843]
18. Ross, Robert L.; Hunter, Harold E. 1976. Climax vegetation of Montana
based on soils and climate. Bozeman, MT: U.S. Department of Agriculture,
Soil Conservation Service. 64 p. [2028]
19. Shaw, Nancy L.; Monsen, Stephen B. 1983. Nonleguminous forbs for
rangeland sites. In: Monsen, Stephen B.; Shaw, Nancy, compilers.
Managing Intermountain rangelands--improvement of range and wildlife
habitats: Proceedings of of symposia; 1981 September 15-17; Twin Falls,
ID; 1982 June 22-24; Elko, NV. Gen. Tech. Rep. INT-157. Ogden, UT: U.S.
Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Intermountain Forest and
Range Experiment Station: 123-131. [2121]
20. Stranathan, Sam E.; Monsen, Stephen B. 1986. Selection of a cultivar of
Artemisia ludoviciana for disturbed land plantings. In: McArthur, E.
Durant; Welch, Bruce L., compilers. Proceedings--symposium of the
biology of Artemisia and Chrysothamnus; 1984 July 9-13; Provo, UT. Gen.
Tech. Rep. INT-200. Ogden, UT: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest
Service, Intermountain Research Station: 108-113. [2263]
21. U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service. 1937. Range plant
handbook. Washington, DC. 532 p. [2387]
22. U.S. Department of Agriculture, Soil Conservation Service. 1982.
National list of scientific plant names. Vol. 1. List of plant names.
SCS-TP-159. Washington, DC. 416 p. [11573]
23. Welsh, Stanley L.; Atwood, N. Duane; Goodrich, Sherel; Higgins, Larry
C., eds. 1987. A Utah flora. Great Basin Naturalist Memoir No. 9. Provo,
UT: Brigham Young University. 894 p. [2944]
Index
Related categories for Species: Artemisia dracunculus
| Tarragon
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