Coastal Sagebrush

Scientific Name: Artemisia californica Less.

Plant Guide

Description

General: Aster Family (Asteraceae). California sagebrush is an aromatic, native, perennial shrub that can reach 5 to 8 feet in height. It has a generally rounded growth habit, with slender, flexible stems branching from the base of the plant. Leaves are more or less hairy, light green to gray in color, usually 0.8 to 4.0 inches in length, with 2 to 4 thread-like lobes that are less than 0.04 inches wide, with the margins curled under. California sagebrush blooms in the later summer to autumn/winter (depending on locale), and inflorescences are long, narrow, leafy and sparse, generally exceeding the leaves, with heads less than 0.2 inches in diameter that nod when in fruit (Hickman, 1993). Distribution: California sagebrush is found in coastal sage scrub communities from southwestern coastal Oregon, along the California coast and foothills, south into northern Baja California, Mexico (Figure 2) (Hickman, 1993). It also occurs on the coastal islands of California and Baja, generally below 3300 feet elevation, but may extend inland (and over 4920 feet in elevation) from the coastal zone.

Habitat Adaptation

Adaptation

Adaptation

This shrub is a dominant component of the coastal sage scrub, and an important member of some chaparral, coastal dune and dry foothill plant communities, especially near the coast (Hickman, 1993). Typical landforms include coastal terraces, low to middle slopes, valley bottoms, coastal bluffs, rock outcrops, and areas of disturbance on moderate to steeper slopes (Holland, 1986; Munz and Keck, 1949). Soils vary from coarse gravels to clays, but typically only support plant-available moisture with winter and spring rains. It grows best on shallow, well-drained soils in hardiness zones 7-9 and 14-24 (Norris-Brenzel, 2001). California sagebrush is a native, dominant component of central and southern coastal sage scrub that generally occurs where the coastal (marine) effect of the Pacific Ocean moderates summer drought. The climate is seasonally wet, with most precipitation falling as rain between November and April. Other associated diagnostic shrub and half-shrub species in this association include; Coyotebrush, Baccharis pilularis; Blueblossom, Ceanothus thyrsiflorus; Bush sunflower, Encelia californica; California yerba santa, Eriodictyon californicum; Coastal buckwheat, Eriogonum cinereum; California buckwheat, Eriogonum fasciculatum; seaside woolly sunflower, Eriophyllum stoechadifolium; salal, Gaultheria shallon; goldenbush, Isocoma menziesii; deerweed, Lotus scoparius; Lupine spp. Lupinus spp.; chaparral bush mallow, Malacothamnus fasciculatus; Fremont’s bush mallow, Malacothamnus fremontii; coastal prickly pear, Opuntia littoralis; California blackberry, Rubus ursinus; white sage, Salvia apiana; purple sage, Salvia leucophylla; black sage, Salvia mellifera; poison oak, Toxicodendron diversilobum, and California huckleberry, Vaccinium ovatum (Rundel, 2007; Sawyer et al., 2009; Southern coastal scrub occurs below 1000 m (3300 feet) elevation and extends inland from the maritime zone in hotter, drier conditions than northern (less fog-drenched) shrublands (e.g., areas with 10-60 cm of annual precipitation) (Rundel, 2007). The more northern scrub extends inland in California in the vicinity of San Francisco Bay, the margins of the Sacramento-San Joaquin delta and up the Sierra Nevada foothills and North Coast Range and Klamath Range foothills to over 1500 m (4900 feet). Some of the inland extension follows coastal fog or cool marine air pushed inland by prevailing winds (Ford and Hays, 2007). California sagebrush is adapted to summer heat and drought, dropping its leaves only under periods of extreme drought stress (Perry, 1981). The root system is shallow and fibrous, allowing the plant to take advantage of early season rains for rapid Natural Resources Conservation Service Plant Guide Figure 1 California Sagebrush. James L. Reveal, USDA-NRCS PLANTS Database 2 growth (Hauser, 2006). The leaves produce soluble and volatile terpene compounds that are thought to inhibit germination and growth of some plants, resulting in relatively bare patches of soil under and around the shrub (Hauser, 2006). Early seral stands may form on disturbed sites such as roadsides, levees, and sites of recent landslides. This plant is moderately adapted to fire, resprouting from the root crown about 25% of the time, or germinating from seed, especially in the second year after a fire (Keeley, 1998). Foliage contains substantial amounts of oil, making it highly flammable during the summer (Perry, 1981). Generally, coastal shrublands including California sagebrush as a dominant component become established following fire, but do not necessarily require fire for regeneration.

Uses

Landscaping and erosion control: Landscape use is usually restricted to slope plantings, especially road scars, and revegetation of disturbed areas for erosion control (Perry, 1981). Wildlife: Late-successional California sagebrush communities provide foraging and nesting habitat for many birds, including critical habitat for the federally threatened California gnatcatcher and the endemic Bell’s sage sparrow, a state-listed species of special concern (Hauser, 2006). These communities also support a number of amphibians, reptiles and small mammals, such as dusky-footed and desert woodrats who preferentially feed on California sagebrush (Meserve, 1974).

Ethnobotany

Native Americans in California used the leaves of California sagebrush for a number of medicinal treatments, including as a poultice for tooth aches or wounds, or applied to the back to treat asthma; as a decoction taken for menstrual problems, to ease childbirth, to ease menopausal symptoms, and for newborns to flush out their systems; and as a decoction used as a bath for colds, rheumatism and coughs (Bean and Saubel, 1972; Bocek, 1984; Foster and Hobbs, 2002), The leaves are also reported to have been chewed fresh, or dried and used for smoking, mixed with tobacco and other dried leaves (Bean and Saubel, 1972), Use soil moisture sensors to measure the soil moisture of Coastal Sagebrush., The Luiseno Indians reportedly burned the bushes with white sage in ceremonial fires before hunting (Sparkman 1908), Early Spanish Californians knew the plant as “Romerillo”, and regarded it as a panacea, using it in tea for bronchial troubles, or as a wash for wounds and swellings (Dale, 1986), It was also used by early miners in sprays to drive fleas from their beds (Dale, 1986),

Status

Global rank for the species is G4 (Apparently Secure). California state rank for the species is not currently assessed (as of 21 Apr 2020), but has been ranked in the past as S5 (Secure - common, widespread, and abundant in the state). However, California sagebrush is often a dominant component of two plant communities within the California Coastal Scrub association that are designated sensitive natural communities within California (The California Biologist’s Handbook, 2020). These communities – Diegan and Venturan Coastal Sage Scrub – carry a global ranking of G3 (‘Vulnerable -- at moderate risk of extinction due to a restricted range, relatively few populations (often 80 or fewer), recent and widespread declines, or other factors), and California state ranking of S3.1 (‘Vulnerable’ – vulnerable in the state due to a restricted range, relatively few populations [often 80 or fewer], recent and widespread declines, or other factors making it vulnerable to extirpation from the state). No special federal legal status. Wetland Indicator Status: Upland. Ranking and status values may change over time. Please consult the PLANTS Web site (http://plants.usda.gov/) and your state’s Department of Natural Resources for this plant’s current status (e.g., threatened or endangered species, state noxious status, and wetland indicator values). Figure 2 California county level distribution map of California sagebrush. Image from PLANTS database (2020).