Artemisia sieversiana

Artemisia sieversiana Ehrh. (N and C-As.) – An exceptional and probably ephemeral grain alien. Regularly recorded by roadsides in the port area in Gent since 2011 but probably depend on permanent re-introduction of seeds. Perhaps overlooked before.

Artemisia sieversiana is closely related with and very reminiscent of A. absinthium. It is an annual or biennial (vs. perennial) with larger heads (4-6 mm across, vs. 2-3 mm) and nutlets (1,2-2 mm long), leaves that are more or less triangular in outline with more acute leaf lobes and a deeply grooved, nearly angled stem. It is well-known for instance in the Czech Republic (Hejný 1964) and Ukrain (Mosyakin 1990).

Artemisia sieversiana, Gent, port area, roadside, June and August 2011, F. Verloove Artemisia sieversiana, Gent, port area, roadside, June and August 2011, F. Verloove
Artemisia sieversiana, Gent, port area, roadside, June and August 2011, F. Verloove  

 


Selected literature:

Hejný S. (1964) Artemisia sieversiana Willd., eine neue eingeschleppte Art in der Tschechoslowakei. Preslia 36: 392-402.

Mosyakin S.L. (1990) New and noteworthy alien species of Artemisia L. (Asteraceae) in the Ukrainian SSR. Ukr. Botan. Zhurn. 47(4): 10-13.

Scratchpads developed and conceived by (alphabetical): Ed Baker, Katherine Bouton Alice Heaton Dimitris Koureas, Laurence Livermore, Dave Roberts, Simon Rycroft, Ben Scott, Vince Smith