Sagebrush

It's long past time to blog about a species that I see just about everyday, one that is iconic of Wyoming's wide open spaces between mountain ranges, the sagebrush.  According to the Wyoming Game and Fish website, "Wyoming has more sagebrush than any other state. Sagebrush occupies approximately 50% (32 million acres) of Wyoming's land area."

One of the reasons I've neglected to blog about sagebrush so far, is that I am hopeless at differentiating between the species.  There are at least thirteen species of sage in Wyoming, not to mention numerous subspecies and varieties.  So far I have not yet developed the skills to tell these apart, so I will simply call these plants 'sagebrush' of the genus Artemisia.  I think that even these two photos of sagebrush in the recent snowfall may be different species.

Sagebrush can be small plants like in the above photos, or can be large and bushy.   Big Sagebrush is an actual species name (Artemisia tridentata), but even that species must sometimes be small, too, like when it is young or chewed or weather-stunted or otherwise damaged.   I am guessing that the following picture, taken in western Nebraska in early spring, might be big sagebrush, but I wouldn't put any money on it.

Some species and subspecies are called silver sagebrush (Artemisia cana), and the name is quite fitting for the plants that seem to shine in the sunlight.   The following photo was taken on a warm May day along the Platte River near the Colorado/Wyoming border. 

If you crush sagebrush leaves, they release a strong smell similar to that of the sage herb used in cooking.  Wikipedia reveals that the two plants are not related and that sagebrush tastes bitter, probably to discourage animals from nibbling on it.  Pronghorn are the only large mammals that thrive on eating large amounts of sagebrush.  Other animals like deer and cattle will eat it only if nothing better is around, and they can only tolerate small amounts.

In June of 2010, I saw several sagebrush plants with round, fruit-like growths.  Subsequent Internet research could not name these oddities, and I forgot about them.  Today I stumbled upon the following on desertusa.com:  "Often, purplish insect galls occur on the plant. These are caused by the chemical secretions of insects that alter the plant’s growth cells, which then form a protective covering around the insect's larvae."

Once I  had the word 'gall' to add to my web searches, I came across more info.  "Many big sagebrush plants have rounded swellings, lumps or bumps on certain leaves, stems or stalks. These are not fruits but galls. A gall is a swelling growth of new plant tissue produced by the plant in response to an insect larva burrowed in the leaf. Galls vary enormously in texture and shape, and do no harm to the host plant. (fieldguide.cdlandtrust.org)"  "Gall-forming insects stimulate their host plant to develop tumor-like growths that provide them with food and shelter (ojs.lib.byu.edu)."

So, not fruits.  Do not eat unless you are a connoisseur of bug larval tumors.