Taxon Report

Artemisia tripartita Rydberg ssp. tripartita

threetip sagebrush

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Taxon Summary

Artemisia tripartita ssp. tripartita, commonly known as threetip sagebrush, is a perennial shrub in the Asteraceae that is found in California and elsewhere. It occurs within Upper montane coniferous forest, growing at elevations from 2200 to 2600 meters. Artemisia tripartita ssp. tripartita is ranked 2B.3, Plants Rare, Threatened, or Endangered in California, But More Common Elsewhere; Not very threatened in California.

Classification


Scientific Name:	Artemisia tripartita Rydberg ssp. tripartita
Common Name:	threetip sagebrush
Family:	Asteraceae
Element Code:	PDAST0S1S2
USDA Plants Symbol:	ARTRT2
Synonyms/Other Names:

Ecology and Life History


Lifeform:	perennial shrub
Blooming Period: Aug	Aug
Elevation:	2200-2600 (7220-8530)
General Habitats:	Upper montane coniferous forest
Microhabitat:	Rocky, Volcanic
Microhabitat Details:

Conservation Status


CA Rare Plant Rank:	2B.3
Global Rank:	G5T4T5
State Rank:	S2
State List:	None
Fed List:	None
Other Status:
CRPR Changes:	changed from 2.3 to 2B.3 on 2013-06-12 added to 2.3 on 2012-08-20

Occurrence Data from the CNDDB


Total Occurrences:	3
Element Occurrence Ranks:
Excellent (A)	0
Good (B)	0
Fair (C)	0
Poor (D)	0
None (X)	0
Unknown (U)	3

Location


California Endemic: False
California Counties and Islands: Name (Code)
Nevada (NEV), Placer (PLA)
Quads: Name (Quad Code)
Norden (3912033), Tahoe City (3912022), Truckee (3912032)

Threat List Data from the CNDDB


Threat List Total:	0
EOs with Threat Listed:	Total EOs	% of EOs
	0	%

Notes



Potentially threatened by ski area development and maintenance. Similar to A. tridentata; hybridizes with A. tridentata ssp. vaseyana. Keyable to A. arbuscula ssp. thermopola in TJM (1993); not in TJM 2. See Transactions of the American Philosophical Society II 7:398 (1841) for original description and Memoirs of the New York Botanical Garden 1:432 (1900) for taxonomic treatment.
Threats:

Taxonomy:

Selected References

Proposed New Add to Rank 2.3, G5T3T5 / S2 (2012)

Artemisia tripartita ssp. tripartita account for potential Species of Conservation Concern evaluation (2022)

Citation California Native Plant Society, Rare Plant Program. 2025. Rare Plant Inventory (online edition, v9.5.1). Website https://www.rareplants.cnps.org [accessed 19 November 2025].