Artemisia
(from Artemis, one of the names of Diana). Mugwort; Southernwood; Wormwood. ORD. Compositoe. A very large genus of mostly hardy herbaceous perennials, few of which, comparatively speaking, are worth growing. Flower-heads disposed in spikes, or racemes, and these are usually arranged in panicles; pappus none; involucre few-flowered, ovate or rounded, imbricated; florets of the disk all tubular; of the ray, if any, slender, awl-shaped. Leaves alternate, variously lobed. All the species are of the easiest possible culture in any dry soil. The shrubby kinds are best propagated by cuttings; the herbaceous ones, by dividing at the root; and the annuals, by seeds.
A. Abrotanum (aromatic herb).* Old Man; Southernwood. fl.-heads yellowish. August to October. l., lower ones bipinnate; upper ones pinnate, with the segments hair-like. Stem straight. h. 2ft. to 4ft. Europe, 1548. A deciduous shrub, well known for its fragrance. See also Southernwood.
A. A. humile (low). A low spreading variety. h. 1 1/2ft.
A. A. tobolskianum (Tobolskian). A much more vigorous growing variety than the last, and larger in all its parts than the type.
A. alpina (alpine).* fl.-heads yellow, solitary, on long slender stalks; scales of involucre lanceolate. Summer. l. pinnate, covered with whitish silky hairs; lobes linear, entire, h. 6in. to 10in. Caucasus, 1804. Dwarf, with a very tufted habit.
A. anethifolia (Anethum-leaved). fl.-heads yellowish-green, small; panicle very large, densely packed, nearly 2ft. long. Autumn. l. chiefly cauline, much divided into thread-like segments, greyish-green. Stem shrubby at the base, nearly glabrous, branching at the top. h. 3ft. to 4ft. Siberia, 1816.
A. argentea (silvery).* fl.-heads pale yellow, roundish, closely packed. July. l. ovate-oblong, very freely divided, densely clothed with soft silvery hairs. h. 1 1/2ft. Madeira, 1777. A very pretty species, requiring a warm sunny position on the rockery.
A. cana (hoary).* fl.-heads yellow, small, uninteresting, ovate, in a close spiky panicle. August. l. silky, hoary; lower ones wedge-shaped, sharply three-cleft; cauline ones linear-lanceolate, three-nerved. Stem ascending; branches erect. h. 2ft. to 3ft. North America, 1800. This is a very distinct species, and its silvery leaves and stems render it well worthy of cultivation.
A. coerulescens (bluish).* fl.-heads bluish, erect, cylindrical. August. l. hoary, most of them lanceolate, entire, tapering at the base; lower ones variously divided. h. 2ft. South Europe. An ornamental evergreen shrub.
A. Dracunculus. Tarragon. fl.-heads whitish-green; racemes panicled; heads sub-globose. July. l., radical ones three-cleft; cauline ones sessile, linear or linear-oblong, acute, entire, toothed. h. 2ft. South Europe, 1548. See also Tarragon.
A. frigida (frigid). fl.-heads yellow, uninteresting, small, roundish, racemosely panicled. August. l. pinnate; segments narrow, silvery. h. 1ft. Siberia, 1826. A pretty creeping, herbaceous plant.
A. maritima (maritime). fl.-heads brown; racemes oblong, erect or drooping. August and September. l. downy, bipinnatifid, oblong; segments linear. Britain. A much branched, erect, or decumbent plant, excellent for rough rockwork or very dry banks, &c.
A. Mutellina (Mutellina).* fl.-heads yellowish-green; lower ones stalked, upper ones sessile. July. l. all palmate, multifid, white. Stem quite simple. h. 6in. European Alps, 1815.
A. pontica (Pontine). fl.-heads yellow, roundish, stalked, nodding. September. l. downy beneath; cauline ones bipinnate; leaflets linear. h. 3ft. Austria, 1570.
A. rupestris (rock). fl.-heads brown, globose, stalked, nodding. August. l. sub-pubescent; cauline ones pinnatifid; leaflets linear, acute. h. 6in. Norway, &c., 1748.
A. scoparia (twiggy-branched). fl.-heads small, whitish; panicle broad, densely packed, about 1 1/2ft. long. Autumn. l. much divided; segments hair-like; lower branches very slender. h. 3ft. to 5ft. East Europe.
A. spicata (spicate). fl.-heads brown, spicate. June and July. l. hoary; radical ones palmate multifid; cauline ones pinnatifid; upper linear, entire, blunt. Stem quite simple. h. 1ft. Switzerland, 1790.
A. Stelleriana (Steller's).* fl.-heads yellow, uninteresting, round, somewhat erect. Summer. l., lower ones spathulate-incised; upper ones obtusely lobed; end lobes often confluent, about 2in. long, silvery white. h. 1ft. to 2ft. Siberia.
A. tanacetifolia (Tanacetum-leaved). fl.-heads brownish; racemes simple, terminal. Summer. l. bipinnate; lobes linear sub-lanceolate, entire, acuminated, rather downy. Stem sometimes branching at the base, herbaceous. h. 1 1/2ft. Siberia, 1768.
A. vulgaris (common).* Mugwort. fl.-heads yellow, somewhat racemed, ovate. August. l. pinnatifid; segments white, and downy beneath. Stems 3ft. to 4ft. high, furrowed. Britain. The variegated form of this species exhibits a very pleasing contrast. There is also a pretty variety with golden leaves.