Artemisia dracunculus

Identification

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Description

(Syn. Artemisia dracunculoides, Artemisia glauca) Tarragon (probably not the variety called French Tarragon, the culinary herb) is a very unattractive weed of disturbed places. Worldwide, maybe native in California, maybe a very early introduction. A coarse, scented or unscented perennial, the lower leaves are deciduous, and the flowers are insignificant. Tarragon spreads by rhizomes, and has stiff erect stems around 5 ft. high and is very difficult to get rid of. In California tarragon is found from coastal sage scrub to coniferous forest at elevations up to 11,000 ft. The type specimen, used as the foundation upon which this species was named and described, was found originally in Siberia. Artemisia drancunculus was named by the botanist Carolus Linnaeus, in the 1700's. All sorts of cultivars and all sorts of names.