Artemisia vulgaris (Wormwood)

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Artemisia vulgaris L.

Wormwood, mugwort, common mugwort, common wormwood

Kingdom	Plantae	Plants, but not fungi, lichens, or algae
Subkingdom	Tracheobionta	Vascular plants—plants with a “circulatory system” for delivering water and nutrients
Division	Magnoliophyta	Flowering plants, also known as angiosperms
Class	Magnoliopsida	Dicotyledons—plants with two initial seed leaves
Subclass	Asteridae	A large class that encompasses asters
Order	Asterales	Flowering plants with a central disk flower and surrounding petals, like daisies
Family	Asteraceae	The aster family, which also includes daisies and sunflowers; from the Greek ἀστήρ, “star,” for the star-shaped flowers
Genus	Artemisia	From the Greek goddess Artemis, who gave it her own name because it helped cure her (there are other possible reasons for the derivation of this name too)
Species	vulgaris	“Common”

About plant names...

Common wormwood is a North American native. Don't confuse it with the related species, Artemisia absinthium (from which absinthe is made)—it is also called wormwood. In Russia and the Ukraine, a common name for wormwood (полынь) is “chernobyl.” Like the town, whose name dates back to the 12th century, the origin of the name is not known.

Identification: Plants are 1½-5′ (50-150 cm) tall, on stiff stems that branch only a little. Stems are ridged, green or often purple, and nearly hairless, although tiny white hairs make the stem appear more pink than purple. Leaves are green above, but feltlike below, covered with tiny white hairs, 1¾-8″ (5-20 cm) × 1-1¾″ (3-5 cm). The leaves are deeply divided. Although numerous, flowers are small, inconspicuous, and yellow or dark red; they appear from July to September.

References:

Agricultural Research Service of the United States Department of Agriculture, Common Weeds of the United States, Dover Publications, Inc., 1971, p. 374

Uva, Richard H.; Neal, Joseph C.; DiTomaso, Joseph M., Weeds of the Northeast, Comstock Publishing Associates, 1997, p. 116

Online References:

Plants for a Future, a resource and information centre for edible and otherwise useful plants

Wikipedia

The Virginia Tech Weed Identification Guide

SEINet—the Southwest Environmental Information Network

Botanical.com

6/5/2013 · Nashua River Rail Trail, Groton Center, Groton, Massachusetts · ≈ 8 × 6″ (20 × 14 cm)

9/3/2009 · Nashua River Rail Trail, Ayer, Massachusetts · ≈ 7 × 11″ (18 × 27 cm)

8/11/2010 · Nashua River Rail Trail, Groton Center, Groton, Massachusetts · ≈ 12 × 17″ (29 × 44 cm) ID is uncertain

9/11/2010 · Nashua River Rail Trail, Groton Center, Groton, Massachusetts · ≈ 7 × 4½″ (17 × 11 cm)

9/3/2009 · Nashua River Rail Trail, Ayer, Massachusetts · ≈ 9 × 14″ (23 × 35 cm)

9/11/2010 · Nashua River Rail Trail, Groton Center, Groton, Massachusetts · ≈ 14 × 9″ (35 × 23 cm)

Artemisia selengensis Turcz. ex Besser

Artemisia tilesii Ledeb. var. aleutica (Hultén) S.L. Welsh

Artemisia unalaskensis Rydb.

Artemisia unalaskensis Rydb. var. aleutica Hultén

Artemisia vulgaris L. var. coarctata Forselles ex Besser

Artemisia vulgaris L. var. glabra Ledeb.

Artemisia vulgaris L. var. kamtschatica Besser

Artemisia vulgaris L. var. latiloba Ledeb.

Artemisia vulgaris L. var. selengensis (Turcz. ex Besser) Maxim.

Artemisia vulgaris L. var. vulgaris

Artemisia vulgaris description by Thomas H. Kent, last updated 1 Sep 2021.

8/11/2010 · Nashua River Rail Trail, Groton Center, Groton, Massachusetts · ≈ 9 × 14″ (23 × 35 cm) ID is uncertain

9/4/2013 · Amos Kendall Conservation Area, Dunstable, Massachusetts · ≈ 8 × 5″ (19 × 12 cm)

9/4/2013 · Amos Kendall Conservation Area, Dunstable, Massachusetts · ≈ 6 × 4″ (16 × 10 cm)

6/5/2013 · Nashua River Rail Trail, Groton Center, Groton, Massachusetts · ≈ 6 × 9″ (16 × 23 cm)

6/5/2013 · Nashua River Rail Trail, Groton Center, Groton, Massachusetts · ≈ 15 × 10″ (37 × 25 cm)

8/11/2010 · Nashua River Rail Trail, Groton Center, Groton, Massachusetts · ≈ 3½ × 5″ (9.2 × 13 cm) ID is uncertain

9/4/2013 · Amos Kendall Conservation Area, Dunstable, Massachusetts · ≈ 4½ × 7″ (11 × 16 cm)

9/18/2010 · Nashua River Rail Trail, Groton Center, Groton, Massachusetts · ≈ 7 × 4½″ (17 × 11 cm)

9/14/2009 · Near Nashoba Hospital, Ayer, Massachusetts · ≈ 1 × 2′ (41 × 62 cm)

Range:

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