Artemisia desertorum Seeds | Desert Wormwood
LATIN NAME: Artemisia desertorum
COMMON NAME: Desert Wormwood
Plant Profile
Desert wormwood is a low, silvery subshrub of the steppes and sandy lands of Central Asia, Mongolia and northern China, growing twenty to sixty centimetres tall from a woody base. The leaves are finely divided into narrow lobes and covered with a dense grey felt of hairs, which gives the plant its colour and reduces water loss.
In late summer it carries small, nodding, yellowish flower heads in loose panicles, and these ripen into tiny seeds. The whole plant is strongly aromatic when crushed, with the camphor and thujone smell of the genus. It is a characteristic plant of the dry steppe and of the edge of the Gobi, and it is one of the species used in China for the stabilisation of sandy ground.
Science & Biotechnology
Artemisia is a genus of several hundred species, most of them of the northern hemisphere steppes and semi-deserts, and it is placed in the tribe Anthemideae of the daisy family. Artemisia desertorum belongs to the group of Asian species with finely divided leaves and a woody base, which includes Artemisia sphaerocephala and A. ordosica, the shrubs used in the sand-fixation programmes of Inner Mongolia and Ningxia.
The silvery hairs on the leaf surface are a classic adaptation to drought and to high irradiance, and the aromatic oils are thought to deter grazing and to reduce water loss. The genus contains species with very different chemistry: Artemisia annua is the source of artemisinin, the antimalarial, while others are rich in thujone and are toxic in quantity. This species has been little studied chemically, and its oil has not been commercially exploited.
Uses & Benefits
Desert wormwood is used in its native range as a forage plant for sheep and goats in winter, when the aromatic oils are less pungent, and as a source of fuel and of thatching material. It is planted in the sand-fixation belts of northern China, where its deep roots and its tolerance of burial by sand let it hold a dune in place while slower shrubs establish.
In gardens it is grown for its silver foliage in a dry border, a gravel garden or a xeriscape, where its aromatic leaves and its tolerance of drought make it a useful contrast to greener plants. It needs sharp drainage and full sun, and it resents wet winters. The plant has a place in local medicine as a decoction for fever, but it is not a garden remedy and should not be substituted for the Artemisia species used in pharmacy.
Growing from Seed
Sow in spring at 18-20 °C on the surface of a very free-draining mix of equal parts grit, sand and loam, and cover with a little grit. The seed is small and needs light, so do not bury it. Germination takes two to three weeks.
Keep the seedlings on the dry side and grow them in full light to keep them compact, since damp, still air causes damping-off. Prick them out into individual pots with extra grit in the mix. Plant out in spring, after the last frost, in a raised bed or on a bank where the drainage is sharp, and water only until they are established. The plant tolerates real drought once it has a root system. Cut it back lightly in spring rather than autumn, and take heel cuttings in late summer if a particular form is wanted.
Our Take
A silver-leafed steppe shrub for the driest corner of the garden, aromatic, tough and useful on sand. Give it grit and full sun.
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