Prairie Sage and Pasture Sage on Prairies (and Pastures)

Prairie Sage (left, right, and lower middle stalks)
and Pasture Sage (middle) © SB

Not all Sage on the Prairie is Prairie Sage, nor all Sage in pastures, Pasture Sage.

Though some might be...

In addition to these, there is also Sagebrush...

And some sources call Prairie and Pasture Sages, Sageworts, instead.

But I am not at all confused. (Or, perhaps only slightly...)

First up, Prairie Sage. (Or Prairie Sagewort.)

This wooly-leaved aromatic plant has minute yellow-grey flowers, which dry to a prettier (to me) shade of rusty brown.

Prairie Sage is fairly low-growing, with branching stems and wide leaves — and may grow with Pasture Sage, as at right.

(The Pasture Sage is a bit tricky to see in this image... Its yellow flower stalk is against the middle Prairie Sage stalk. To identify either, better to refer to the other pictures, below.)

Prairie Sage flowers, slightly past their prime  © SB

Stalk of Prairie Sage © SB

Next, Pasture Sage. (Or Pasture Sagewort.) Also aromatic and sage-scented, Pasture Sage sports stalks of numerous (very small) yellow flowers that rise above its hairy, thread-like, ground-level leaves. (These fragile stalks remind me of delicate strands of bells, and they are rarely still, drifting in even the slightest breeze.)

Pasture Sage flowers. © SB

Stalks of Pasture Sage flowers © SB

Pasture Sage plant. © SB

Both Prairie Sage and Pasture Sage are said to be traditional remedies for relieving complaints such as stomach ache and heartburn... But don't take my word for it: Best to do your own research (and research well!) before consuming any wildflower or plant!

Prairie Wildflowers: Prairie Sage (Artemisia ludoviciana) and Pasture Sage (Artemisia frigida)

Location:  Near Regina, and in Grasslands National Park,Saskatchewan, Canada, 
Photo Dates: August 21, 22, and 30, 2014. 

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