IMPORTANT WESTERN BROWSE PLANTS 175 
Sand sagebrush (A. jilifolia), sometimes called threadleaf sage- 
brush, ranges at relatively low elevations from Nebraska to Wyo- 
ming and Mexico; ordinarily it is palatable to livestock and in some 
places, such as southern Utah, this undershrub is one of the good 
local forage plants. 
Woolly sagebrush (A. floccosa), a semiherbaceous species, ranging 
from Montana to Oregon and Arizona, is in some places common, 
being usually associated with open stands of yellow pine. In parts 
of Arizona it is given high rank by the stockmen. 
Ragweed sagebrush (A. franserioides) is a Southwestern species 
extending into Mexico. It is a semiherbaceous plant and ordinarily 
is not esteemed by stockmen; in at least two localities, however, the 
Cochetopa region of southwestern Colorado and the Santa Fe region 
of northern New Mexico, it has been pronounced good sheep feed. 
It is locally in repute for alleged medicinal properties. 
Cudweed sagebrush (A. gnaphalodes) (fig. 44, A, B, D), a rela- 
tively eastern species, is an undershrub extending westward as far 
as Alberta, eastern Oregon, Utah, and northern New Mexico. As a 
rule it is absolutely or practically worthless on the range, but there 
are some exceptions. In parts of the Wind River district of western 
Wyoming it is held to be a rather valuable browse for both cattle 
and sheep, and in portions of southwestern Colorado is said to fur- 
nish fairly good winter grazing. 
Sweet sagebrush (A. incompta, syn. A. discolor incompta, A. vul- 
garis discolor) is scarcely more than a herbaceous perennial, with 
a woody, creeping rootstock. It ranges in sagebrush, pifion, and 
yellow pine types from British Columbia to Utah, Colorado, and 
Montana. While virtually worthless for cattle, it is often a good 
sheep feed and in the Great Basin region is to sheep perhaps the 
most palatable species of the genus. 
Louisiana wormwood (A. /udoviciana), known also as dark-leaved 
mugwort, Louisiana mugwort, prairie sagebrush and sweet sage, 
is a species largely of the Missouri River drainage system, but its 
range extends westward as far as Oregon and Idaho and southward 
into Arizona and perhaps into Mexico. In portions of Idaho and 
Utah, at least, this species is regarded as fair to fairly good feed 
for sheep in the fall; in some forage associations, however, it is 
unpalatable to that class of livestock, and as a rule it is almost worth- 
less for cattle. Smith (724) mentions this species favorably, stating 
that the foliage, though bitter, seems to be nutritious, since sheep are 
fond of and fatten on it and cattle browse it during the autumn and 
winter. 
Mexican wormwood (A. mexicana, syn. A. stlvicola), known also 
as Mexican mugwort and Mexican sage(brush), is a silvery-white 
Mexican species ranging north into Arizona, New Mexico, and 
western Texas, on the dry ranges of which it is often a plant of 
importance. Cattlemen often refer to this species as a “ cow tonic”; 
at any rate cattle frequently evince a conspicuous liking for the 
aromatic, bitterish herbage, especially the younger growth; horses 
do not always touch it but sheep, particularly on fall and winter 
range, ordinarily graze it pretty heavily. This species and its ally, 
New Mexican wormwood, mugwort, or sagebrush (A. neomexicana) 
