The genus Artemisia is in the sunflower family Asteraceae and there are over 200 species found around the world in the northern hemisphere. Well, there are a few oddballs that show up elsewhere, but mainly the northern hemisphere. In Arizona Artemisia dracunculus is one of the 14 species of Artemisia found in the wild.
Our native tarragon isn’t going to compete with the domesticated Old World cultivars in pungency, but I’m guessing one could start finding the more flavorful wild plants and come up with some nice selections…or not.
At our place I could be out on the land for along time looking for flavor among the kazillion plants. As the King of Tarragonia I’m thinking I will need some serfs…er, helpers to do the taste tests. Lemme know if that interests you. You’ll be working on the new flavorful borderlands tarragon called Little Dragon.
The photo is mine of new shoots coming from last year’s old stems. And thanks to my son in law Jared for reminding me that the plant really is tarragon. Really!
Maianthemum racemosum is in the family Asparagaceae and there are two subspecies of Maianthemum The subspecies out here in the mountainous forests of the...
The geology found at Fort Bowie National Historic Site certainly makes for the diverse flora. Hills or slopes of limestone next to or mixed...
There are 2 species of walnuts here in the borderlands of southern Arizona; the Arizona walnut (Juglans major) that I talked about and a...