General: Big Sagebrush (Artemisia tridentata) is a fairly large, upright, brushy shrub with upright stems and blue green leaves divided into three lobes at the tip. Flowerheads are small and borne along the upper stem.

Big Sagebrush is one of the dominant shrub species in the Great Basin Desert, and it extends into the Mojave Desert at higher elevations and is a fairly common component of mountain communities in drier areas in the Upper Sonoran (Pinyon-Juniper Woodland), Transition (Yellow Pine), and Canadian (Pine-Fir Forest) life zones.

There are three subspecies of Big Sagebrush. Wyoming Big Sagebrush is our standard sagebrush of big, open valleys with a rounded top. Basin Big Sagebrush is a very tall plant of fertile soils with a distinct trunk, and Mountain Big Sagebrush of higher elevations is smaller with a flattish top.

Rather than typical subspecies, which usually reflect geographically distinct subsets of a species, these subspecies are more like habitat types, where one grows in valleys, another grows in the same valleys, but where there is more water, and the third grows on the hilltops overlooking the valleys, except where there is more water and the other grows. Pollinators usually can fly from one type to another, and most pollination is done by the wind. In this way, they all seem to grow together in the same general area, but with slightly different habitat preferences. Of the three, Mountain Big Sagebrush is most geographically distinct.

Family: Sunflower (Asteraceae).

Other Names: Sagebrush.

Plant Form: Upright, brushy shrub with flowering stems held above the shrubbery.

Height: Wyoming Big Sagebrush to about 4 feet, Basin Big Sagebrush usually to about 8 feet (max 16 ft), and Mountain Big Sagebrush usually to about 3 feet.

Stems: Upright.

Leaves: Upper and lower leaves different. Lower leaves 1/2 to 2 inches, wedge-shaped with 3 lobes at the tip, densely hairy, which gives them a gray-green appearance. Lower leaves often in axillary clusters. Upper leaves (leaves on flowering stems) shorter, elongate, and not clustered, usually without lobed tips. Leaves remain on the plant during winter.

Flowers: Blooms during summer. Inflorescence: flowerheads along about 5-7 inches of stem, held close to stem. Flowerheads very small; individual flowers tiny. Flowers primarily are self- and wind-pollinated, but many insects visit these plants.

Seeds:

Habitat: Middle elevation valleys into the mountains.

Elevation: Usually above 6,000 to tree line, but occurs at lower elevations in places like Lost Creek, Pine Creek, and other canyons along the Red Rocks cliffs.

Distribution: Western North America.

Comments: There are three subspecies of Big Sagebrush in Nevada:

-- Wyoming Sage (A t. spp. wyomingensis). Rounded top, dry basin habitat
-- Mountain Sage (A. t. spp. vaseyana). Flat top, mountain habitat
-- Basin Big Sage (A. t. spp. tridentata). Single trunk, growing very tall (6-8 ft), longer leaves.