ARTEMISIA, a large genus of plants of the family Com positae (q.v.), comprising some 28o species, most abundant in arid regions, notably in the western United States, the Asiatic steppes, South Africa and South America. They are bitter-aromatic herbs or low shrubs, often with much divided leaves and with incon spicuous flowers borne in very numerous small heads. Several are grown for ornamental and medicinal purposes. Four species are found in Great Britain; 75 or more occur in the United States and Canada, chiefly from the Great Plains westward, and several Old World species have become widely naturalized. Here belong the wormwood, beach-wormwood, mugwort (qq.v.), southernwood and tarragon of the gardens and also the well-known sagebrush (q.v.) of western North America.