Erect, leafy stems of this aromatic herb reach 2 feet tall and form dense colonies in shaded openings of pine forests. Note the deeply cut leaves with pointed lobes, and the insignificant yellowish-green flower clusters in the leaf axils. The stem and branches turn bright red in the fall, often covering the forest floor with a blanket of vibrant color.

FLOWER: August–September. Small, tight clusters of inconspicuous yellowish-green flowers in leaf and branch axils; petals absent.

LEAVES: Alternate. Blades lance-shaped to elliptic, 5/8–1 1/2 inches long (1.5–4 cm); margins deeply cut with pointed lobes with or without teeth; aromatic with yellow glands on the lower surface.

HABITAT: Sandy, rocky, loamy soils of open woodlands, mountain grasslands, meadows, and shrublands, disturbed areas; pinyon-juniper-oak, ponderosa-Douglas fir woodlands.

ELEVATION: 5,000–10,200 feet.

RANGE: AZ, CO, NM TX, UT.

SIMILAR SPECIES: Two introduced species widespread in NM: Epazote, D. ambrosiodes, from Mexico, has small, spiked flower clusters, and slender, entire to toothed (not lobed) leaves; Jerusalem-oak, D. botrys, from the Mediterranean, has oak-like, wavy- lobed leaves, and dense terminal flower clusters 4 3/4–9 1/2 inches long.

NM COUNTIES: Widespread in NM mountains from mid- to high-elevation habitats: Bernalillo, Catron, Cibola, Colfax, Dona Ana, Eddy, Grant, Hidalgo, Lincoln, Luna, McKinley, Mora, Otero, Quay, Rio Arriba, San Juan, San Miguel, Sandoval, Santa Fe, Sierra, Socorro, Taos, Torrance, Union, Valencia.