Any of various shrubby species of artemisia of the composite family .
Native to semiarid plains and mountain slopes in western North America, these shrubs are adapted both to dry, hot summers and to moist, mild winters with intermittent polar Pacific winds. Common sagebrush ( Artemisia tridentata ) is a many-branched shrub, usually about 3–6.5 ft (1–2 m) high, with silvery gray, bitter-aromatic foliage.