Introductory
SPECIES: Artemisia norvegica var. saxatilis | Boreal Sagewort 



ABBREVIATION : 
ARTNORS

SYNONYMS : 
   Artemisia arctica Less. ssp. arctica
   Artemisia norvegica Fries ssp. saxitalis (Bess. ex Hook) Hall & Clements


SCS PLANT CODE : 
   ARARS


COMMON NAMES : 
   boreal sagewort
   boreal wormwood
   spruce wormwood


TAXONOMY : 
The currently accepted scientific name of boreal sagewort is Artemisia
norvegica var. saxatilis (Bess.) Jeps.


LIFE FORM : 
Forb

FEDERAL LEGAL STATUS : 
No special status

OTHER STATUS : 
Boreal wormwood is critically imperiled in Montana [12] where
populations of this species are sparse [10].


COMPILED BY AND DATE : 
Tara Y. Williams/September 1990


LAST REVISED BY AND DATE : 
NO-ENTRY


AUTHORSHIP AND CITATION : 
Williams, Tara Y. 1990. Artemisia norvegica var. saxatilis. In: Remainder of Citation

DISTRIBUTION AND OCCURRENCE
SPECIES: Artemisia norvegica var. saxatilis | Boreal Sagewort 



GENERAL DISTRIBUTION : 
Distribution of boreal sagewort is circumboreal.  Artemisia noregica
var. saxatilis occurs in North America [2].


ECOSYSTEMS : 
   FRES23  Fir - spruce
   FRES26  Lodgepole pine
   FRES44  Alpine


STATES : 
     AK  CA  CO  ID  MT  OR  UT  WA  WY  AB
     BC  LB  MB  NB  NS  NT  ON  PQ  SK  YT


ADMINISTRATIVE UNITS : 
     GLAC


BLM PHYSIOGRAPHIC REGIONS : 
    2  Cascade Mountains
    4  Sierra Mountains
    8  Northern Rocky Mountains
    9  Middle Rocky Mountains
   11  Southern Rocky Mountains
   12  Colorado Plateau


KUCHLER PLANT ASSOCIATIONS : 
   K008  Lodgepole pine - subalpine forest
   K015  Western spruce - fir forest
   K052  Alpine meadows and barren


SAF COVER TYPES : 
   206  Engelmann spruce - subalpine fir
   218  Lodgepole pine


SRM (RANGELAND) COVER TYPES : 
NO-ENTRY


HABITAT TYPES AND PLANT COMMUNITIES : 
NO-ENTRY

VALUE AND USE
SPECIES: Artemisia norvegica var. saxatilis | Boreal Sagewort 



WOOD PRODUCTS VALUE : 
NO-ENTRY


IMPORTANCE TO LIVESTOCK AND WILDLIFE : 
NO-ENTRY


PALATABILITY : 
NO-ENTRY


NUTRITIONAL VALUE : 
NO-ENTRY


COVER VALUE : 
NO-ENTRY


VALUE FOR REHABILITATION OF DISTURBED SITES : 
NO-ENTRY


OTHER USES AND VALUES : 
Boreal sagewort can cause hayfever [3].


MANAGEMENT CONSIDERATIONS : 
Overgrazing of boreal sagewort by ungulates may adversely affect sparse
populations in Glacier National Park [9].

BOTANICAL AND ECOLOGICAL CHARACTERISTICS
SPECIES: Artemisia norvegica var. saxatilis | Boreal Sagewort 



GENERAL BOTANICAL CHARACTERISTICS : 
Boreal sagewort is a native, perennial, herbaceous plant which grows 4
to 24 inches (10-60 cm) tall.  It has tufted, persistent, basal leaves,
short rhizomes and a caespitose caudex.  The fruit is an achene
[2,6,12,17].


RAUNKIAER LIFE FORM : 
   Geophyte


REGENERATION PROCESSES : 
Boreal sagewort reproduces from seed sexually produced by pollination
and fertilization [3].


SITE CHARACTERISTICS : 
Boreal sagewort grows on talus slopes, rock outcrops, and open woods at
subalpine or alpine elevations [2,12].  It is found in spruce (Picea
spp.)-fir (Abies spp.), lodgepole pine (Pinus contorta), and alpine
tundra communities [17].

Boreal sagewort contributed greater cover on the outer part than on
inner part of stands surrounding snow patches.  There was slightly more
of the species on a southern site than a northern site.  It was
associated with alpine avens (Geum rossii) [7].  In a sibbaldia
(Sibbaldia procumbens)-little clubmoss (Selaginella densa) stand, boreal
sagewort was negatively correlated with its congener, alpine sagewort
(Artemisia scopulorum) [16].

Boreal sagewort occurs from 10,900 to 11,200 feet (3,320-3,410 m) in
Utah; from 10,400 to 14,300 feet (3,170-4,360 m) in Colorado; and at
10,300 feet (3,140 m) in Wyoming [3].  It has been reported at 6,680
feet (2,155 m) in Glacier National Park [12].


SUCCESSIONAL STATUS : 
NO-ENTRY


SEASONAL DEVELOPMENT : 
Boreal sagewort flowers from late July and August into September [9].

FIRE ECOLOGY
SPECIES: Artemisia norvegica var. saxatilis | Boreal Sagewort 



FIRE ECOLOGY OR ADAPTATIONS : 
NO-ENTRY


POSTFIRE REGENERATION STRATEGY : 
   Rhizomatous herb, rhizome in soil

FIRE EFFECTS
SPECIES: Artemisia norvegica var. saxatilis | Boreal Sagewort 



IMMEDIATE FIRE EFFECT ON PLANT : 
NO-ENTRY


DISCUSSION AND QUALIFICATION OF FIRE EFFECT : 
NO-ENTRY


PLANT RESPONSE TO FIRE : 
NO-ENTRY


DISCUSSION AND QUALIFICATION OF PLANT RESPONSE : 
NO-ENTRY


FIRE MANAGEMENT CONSIDERATIONS : 
NO-ENTRY

References for species: Artemisia norvegica var. saxatilis

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. 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]

4. Eyre, F. H., ed. 1980. Forest cover types of the United States and Canada. Washington, DC: Society of American Foresters. 148 p. [905]

5. 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]

6. Harrington, H. D. 1964. Manual of the plants of Colorado. 2d ed. Chicago: The Swallow Press Inc. 666 p. [6851]

7. Helm, Dot. 1982. Multivariate analysis of alpine snow-patch vegetation cover near Milner Pass, Rocky Mountain National Park, Colorado, U.S.A. Arctic and Alpine Research. 14(2): 87-95. [13202]

8. 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]

9. Lesica, Peter. 1984. Rare vascular plants of Glacier National Park, Montana. Missoula, MT: University of Montana, Department of Botany. 27 p. [12049]

10. Lesica, P.; Moore, G.; Peterson, K. M.; Rumely, J. H. 1984. Vascular plants of limited distribution in Montana. Monograph No. 2. Proceedings, Montana Academy of Sciences. 43(Supplement): 1-61. [11656]

11. 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. 10 p. [20090]

12. Moss, E. H. 1955. The vegetation of Alberta. Botanical Review. 21(9): 493-567. [6878]

13. Raunkiaer, C. 1934. The life forms of plants and statistical plant geography. Oxford: Clarendon Press. 632 p. [2843]

14. Russell, W. B. 1985. Vascular flora of abandoned coal-mined land, Rocky Mountain Foothills, Alberta. Canadian Field-Naturalist. 99(4): 503-516. [10461]

15. Shelly, J. Stephen, compiler. 1990. Plant species of special concern. Helena, MT: Montana Natural Heritage Program. 20 p. [12960]

16. Welden, Charles. 1985. Structural pattern in alpine tundra vegetation. American Journal of Botany. 72(1): 120-134. [8267]

17. Welsh, Stanley L.; Atwood, N. Duane; Goodrich, Sherel; Higgins, Larry C., eds. 1987. A Utah flora. The Great Basin Naturalist Memoir No. 9. Provo, UT: Brigham Young University. 894 p. [2944]

18. 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]

Related categories for Species: Artemisia norvegica var. saxatilis | Boreal Sagewort