About Artemisia palmeri A.Gray
Artemisia palmeri is a perennial or biennial herb that grows brittle erect or spreading stems reaching 1 to 3 metres (3.3 to 9.8 ft) tall. It has a woody base. Its gray-green aromatic foliage consists of long, narrow leaves that are deeply cut into several narrow, pointed lobes. Its inflorescence holds clusters of flower heads, which contain pale yellow glandular disc florets. The species generally blooms between June and October. It produces a tiny achene fruit, which is approximately one millimeter long.
This plant is native to northwestern Baja California and southwestern California, where it occurs primarily in San Diego County. Its natural habitat is sandy coastal ravines within the coastal sage scrub plant community, and riparian riverbeds in the Cuyamaca Mountains and other Peninsular Ranges. All native populations grow below 600 metres (2,000 ft) in elevation. Most of this plant's natural habitat has already been destroyed by land development for human uses. It is occasionally found further inland, in chaparral plant communities near Redlands and in the San Emigdio Mountains. It is listed as an endangered species on the California Native Plant Society Inventory of Rare and Endangered Plants, because it faces ongoing threats from further habitat loss.
