Prairie Sage

Traditional Cree name: mostoso-wîhkaskwa

Latin names: Artemisia frigida & A. ludoviciana

Common names: prairie sage, buffalo sweet grass, sagebrush, prairie sagewort, pasture sage

Family: Asteraceae (daisy family)

Kingdom: Plantae

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Oki, Âba wathtech, Dānít’ádā, Tansi, Hello

A sage? well many call me sage but I am not actually at sage at all, meaning I am not related to the sage we use in our kitchens. Culinary sage (known as salvia) is actually in the mint family. I come from the artemisia genus, which has over 100 different species known in the northern hemisphere and am a member of the daisy family (Asteraceae). My genus includes plants that we tend to call sagebrush, mugwort and wormwood too. 

Traditionally there were 7-10 different sages that are used here on the prairies medicinally and ceremonially. I am artemisia fridigida, I have soft leaves that have fine silvery hairs and my top has many more seeds than my look a like Artemesia ludoviciana which has yellowish flowers, leaves with fine white hairs and is overall more silvery in colour. I am often referred to female sage and my look alike, male sage. But we have a lot in common and really are not gendered. 

One thing you may notice is our strong scent when you pass us by or when you rub your hand through the grasses. Some say that smell is a reminder of our creator, as I am considered not only a medicinal plant but also a sacred plant too. So best to keep me in the ground, like all my other plant relatives, unless you have the permission and knowledge to move me. 

But come cozy up for a while, enjoy the softness and beauty smell, Breathe it in, ahh. 

It’s good to meet you 

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