California Sagebrush
Artemisia californica
California sagebrush is a large rounded shrub growing 1.5 to 2.5 meters tall. The long, slender stems of this plant are flexible and covered in long, pine needle-like leaves. The leaves range from 1-10 cm tall and are divided into 2-4 thin leaflets. The leaves are hairy and light-green to gray. The inconspicuous narrow, leafy flower clusters are generally yellowish to red in color. The plant as a whole looks like grayish rosemary.
Basic Information
Member of the Asteraceae (Sunflower) family,
Shrub
There are two varieties of this plant:
One grows on the mainland and the other on the Channel Islands
Habitat
Native to California and Baja California
Commonly found in coastal sage scrub, coastal strand, chaparral, and dry foothills
Ecological Role
This plant is extremely drought tolerant; often it is the only plant growing on the driest, south-facing slopes
Provides nesting materials for native bees
Birds such as quail and the endangered California Gnatcatcher use this plant as cover
Reproduction
Blooms from June to November
Alternative Names
Coast Sagebrush, Coastal Sagebrush
Historical Uses
This plant was used by numerous tribes, including the Cahuina, the gynecological issues, the Mahuna, and the Luiseno
There are a number of medicinal uses for this plant including:
Pain relief
Cold relief
Treatment of gynecological issues
Asthma relief
Treatment of rheumatism
The Ohlone chewed the leaves of this plant fresh, or smoked them
Sagebrush was used during Luiseno hunting ceremonies
A ceremonial fire was made, around which hunters would stand
They believed that the fire and smoke would absolve them of any bad luck from social mishaps
Additional Information
The chemicals in this plant make it a powerful pain reliever known as a liniment
The plant’s monoterpenoids interact with our transient receptor potential cation channels (ie pain receptor) to relieve pain
The plant also has sesquiterpenes, which may be involved in pain relief
Liniments are more powerful than opioid drugs and much safer
Within 20 minutes of application, pain subsides, even for broken bones, arthritis, sprains and strains
