SPECIES: Artemisia abrotanum
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Howard, Janet L. 1998. Artemisia abrotanum. In: Fire Effects Information System, [Online]. U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Rocky Mountain Research Station, Fire Sciences Laboratory (Producer). Available: https://www.fs.usda.gov /database/feis/plants/shrub/artabr/all.html [].
Southernwood has a long history of cultivation in the Old World and its region of origin is uncertain. It is thought to be native to the Mediterranean [4,13]. It is an introduced species of minor importance in the United States and southern Canada. It has escaped from cultivation in the Northeast and occurs there sparingly. It is adventive in the Great Plains and the Intermountain region [8,9,13,23].
Southernwood rarely persists after cultivation and is not an important member of plant communities in the United States [14].
Southernwood is moderately palatable to mule deer and other wild ungulates [1,17]. Palatability is good for domestic sheep [17].
Southernwood has been used for rehabilitation of rangelands and mine spoils in the
Intermountain region. It withstands drought and prolonged freezing temperatures and is
recommended for soil stabilization and as a nurse plant
[12,16].
Southernwood is established by outplanting of stem cuttings. In the Intermountain region,
survivorship of transplants in the first few years after outplanting has been good to excellent
[5,17].
Southernwood probably will not persist on reclamation sites due to poor reproduction
(see: REGENERATION).
Southernwood is planted as an ornamental [8,23]. It is used as a medicinal plant for its muscle relaxant properties [2].
Southernwood is an introduced shrub or perennial forb from 1.6 to 6.6 feet (0.5-2.0 m) tall. It is woody at the base and much branched in form [8,9]. The inflorescence is an open panicle with multiple flowerheads. The fruit is a cypsela bearing a tiny seed [9].
Southernwood reproduces by seed but is poorly adapted to do so in North America. It flowers late in the growing season and produces few viable seeds. Seedlings are rare [13,15,16,20].
Southernwood occurs on disturbed sites such as roadsides and open fields [8,9,14]. It grows in moderately acid to moderately alkaline soils and tolerates elevations above 10,000 feet (3,050 m) [13,15].
Southernwood flowers in late August or September in the Great Plains, the Midwest and the Northeast [8,9,14]. Seeds usually do not reach maturity. Plants in the Intermountain region rarely flower [15].
Response of southernwood to fire has not been documented in the literature. Since southernwood sprouts from the root crown after top-kill by agents other than fire, it probably sprouts from the root crown after fire has removed topgrowth. Southernwood twigs are killed by freezing temperatures when twigs are not insulated by snow. In spring, southernwood sprouts from the root crown after winter dieback. Southernwood also sprouts from the root crown after heavy browsing. Plummer [15] reported that southernwood is more vigorous when topgrowth is removed regularly.
Southernwood regeneration by seed after fire is probably insignificant.
FIRE REGIMES: Find fire regime information for the plant communities in which this species may occur by entering the species name in the FEIS home page under "Find Fire Regimes".
1. Austin, D. D.; Hash, A. B. 1988. Minimizing browsing damage by deer: Landscape planning for wildlife. Utah Science. Fall: 66-70. [6341]
2. Bergendorff, Ola; Sterner, Olov. 1995. Spasmolytic flavonols from Artemisia abrotanum. Planta Medica. 61(4): 370-371. [28274]
3. 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]
4. Davis, P. H., ed. 1975. Flora of Turkey and the East Aegean Islands. Edinburgh, Great Britian: Edinburgh University Press. 890 p. [28275]
5. Everett, Richard L.; Meeuwig, Richard O.; Butterfield, Richard I. 1980. Revegetation of untreated acid spoils Leviathan mine, Alpine County, California. California Geology. 32(1): 8-10. [895]
6. Eyre, F. H., ed. 1980. Forest cover types of the United States and Canada. Washington, DC: Society of American Foresters. 148 p. [905]
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8. Gleason, Henry A.; Cronquist, Arthur. 1991. Manual of vascular plants of northeastern United States and adjacent Canada. 2nd ed. New York: New York Botanical Garden. 910 p. [20329]
9. Great Plains Flora Association. 1986. Flora of the Great Plains. Lawrence, KS: University Press of Kansas. 1392 p. [1603]
10. Kartesz, John T. 1994. A synonymized checklist of the vascular flora of the United States, Canada, and Greenland. Volume I--checklist. 2nd ed. Portland, OR: Timber Press. 622 p. [23877]
11. Kuchler, A. W. 1964. United States [Potential natural vegetation of the conterminous United States]. Special Publication No. 36. New York: American Geographical Society. 1:3,168,000; colored. [3455]
12. McArthur, E. Durant; Giunta, Bruce C.; Plummer, A. Perry. 1977. Shrubs for restoration of depleted range and disturbed areas. Utah Science. 35: 28-33. [25035]
13. McArthur, E. Durant; Stevens, Richard. 1986. Composite shrubs. Unpublished manuscript on file at: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Intermountain Research Station, Fire Sciences Labortory, Missoula, MT. 155 p. [7342]
14. Mohlenbrock, Robert H. 1986. (Revised edition). Guide to the vascular flora of Illinois. Carbondale, IL: Southern Illinois University Press. 507 p. [17383]
15. Plummer, A. Perry. 1974. Oldman wormwood to stabilize disturbed areas. Utah Science. 1974 March: 26-27. [1900]
16. Plummer, A. Perry. 1977. Revegetation of disturbed Intermountain area sites. In: Thames, J. C., ed. Reclamation and use of disturbed lands of the Southwest. Tucson, AZ: University of Arizona Press: 302-337. [171]
17. Plummer, A. Perry; Christensen, Donald R.; Monsen, Stephen B. 1968. Restoring big-game range in Utah. Publ. No. 68-3. Ephraim, UT: Utah Division of Fish and Game. 183 p. [4554]
18. Raunkiaer, C. 1934. The life forms of plants and statistical plant geography. Oxford: Clarendon Press. 632 p. [2843]
19. Shiflet, Thomas N., ed. 1994. Rangeland cover types of the United States. Denver, CO: Society for Range Management. 152 p. [23362]
20. Stark, N. 1966. Review of highway planting information appropriate to Nevada. Bull. No. B-7. Reno, NV: University of Nevada, College of Agriculture, Desert Research Institute. 209 p. In cooperation with: Nevada State Highway Department. [47]
21. 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]
22. U.S. Department of Agriculture, Soil Conservation Service. 1994. Plants of the U.S.--alphabetical listing. Washington, DC: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Soil Conservation Service. 954 p. [23104]
23. 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]