Ann Howald brought this taxon to my attention. After studying this region for decades, Ann started paying attention to what looks a lot like Artemisia tridentata, and hence easily passed over. In the TJM2 key, this taxon keys out next to A. tridentate at the end of the Artemisia key. Ostensibly the key break is 'Leaves entire to irregularly 36-toothed, partly deciduous; plant sprouting from roots; moist slopes, rocky meadows, High Sierra Nevada, White and Inyo Mountains > 2000 m.'
The finely and deeply lobed leaves of this shrub seem quite distinctive for an Artemisia. This plant will key in tjm2 to arb. long. if flowers per head #is 3 to 6 and involucre 23 mm diam. In the field some heads appeared to have more than 6 flowers. An intersting fact is that there appear to be only a few collections of this taxon from California. One of three in the CA Consortium is from Castle Peak made by Nick Jensen. Troubling is the FNA description 'usually in clay soils; flower- ing early spring' and FNA distribution map indicates no Nevada collections.
2005 The Regents of the University of California
CalPhotos
Looking northeast. Southerly slopes similar to view # 255666. Redwood and chaparral types in distant background. Note Artemisia vulgaris and Pteris in foreground at right. Quad name: Santa Cruz. Quad number: 84. Reference to map: 90.
