Big sagebrush – Artemisia tridentata

Pronunciation: ar-tay-MEE-zee-ah try-den-tah-tah

Leaf: Simple, alternate (but typically clustered at each node), persistent (but some leaves are drought deciduous). Small (1/2 to 2 inches long) and narrowly wedge-shaped with a 3-lobed apex; silvery-green and pubescent on both surfaces; strong scented; sessile.

Flower: Species is monoecious; flowers very small, yellowish, and tubular; borne in small heads on long, upright spikes; some flowers perfect and some imperfect.

Fruit: Very small achenes; 4 or 5-sided or ribbed

Twig: Young twigs are slender, silvery-gray, and pubescent, becoming grayish brown as they age.

Bark: Grayish brown, shreddy, and splitting lengthwise.

Form: An upright, evergreen shrub commonly growing from several to 15 feet tall

Artemisia tridentata - big sagebrush after the Greek goddess Artemis / leaves with three teeth

http://dendro.cnre.vt.edu/DENDROLOGY/syllabus/factsheet.cfm?ID=431

Native Plants for the Intermountain West