Mounding shrub. Stems from thick woody trunk, hairless. Leaves small, wedge-shaped, with 3 teeth on the wide tip, gray-green, hairs dense; most remain attached throughout year. Flower spikes erect or drooping, densely hairy, small leaves at base. Flower heads small, yellow, with hairy bracts, sometimes surrounded by leaves. Grows in fertile, dry to moist, mildly basic soils at all elevations. State flower of Nevada. The common large sagebrush east of the Cascades throughout our region. Subsp. vaseyana, mountain sagebrush, with erect branches to 3 1/2 ft., grows at mid to alpine elevations. Subsp. tridentata, also called big sagebrush, grows to 6 1/2 ft., with spreading branches, grows in valleys at low and mid elevations. Similar A. arbuscula has lobed stem leaves.
- Rarity: Common
- Flowering Time: Late Summer-Autumn
- Life Cycle: Perennial
- Height: 3--6 1/2 feet
- Habitat: Shrub-Steppe, East-Side Forest
- Found In: Siskiyous, Great Basin, N Cascades NP, West Gorge, Crater Lake NP, Wallowas, Steens
- Native: Yes