The native habitat of Merriam's ground squirrel is arid chapparal environments dominated by sagebrush, and, to a lesser extent, by greasewood and shadscale.
Nevada's athletic teams were originally known as the Sagebrushers, named after Nevada's state flower.
Many members of the group are adapted to life in hot, sandy deserts, although the spiny lizards prefer rocky deserts or even relatively moist forest edges, and the short-horned lizard lives in prairie or sagebrush environments.
As the name suggests, both forms are important constituents of pine resin; they are also found in the resins of many other conifers, as well as in non-coniferous plants such as big sagebrush (Artemisia tridentata).
Advertising described the local climate as "energizing," and it was claimed that the heavy growth of sagebrush indicated that the land was fertile for farming.
Artemisia absinthium | Artemisia tridentata | Larrea tridentata | Artemisia | Artemisia campestris | Artemisia (genus) | Artemisia vulgaris | Artemisia princeps | Artemisia (plant) | Artemisia II of Caria | Artemisia Gentileschi | Sprig of ''Artemisia vulgaris | Shoots of ''Artemisia absinthium | Piece of gnawed on ''Artemisia campestris | Mined leaf of ''Artemisia campestris | A sprig of ''Artemisia vulgaris | Artemisia frigida | Artemisia cina | Artemisia asiatica (disambiguation) | Artemisia asiatica | Artemisia arbuscula | Artemisia annua | An apical shoot of ''Artemisia campestris |
Besides the dominant Artemisia tridentata (Big Sage) and Purshia tridentata (Bitterbrush) noteworthy large plants include Juniperus occidentalis (Western Juniper), Pinus jeffreyi (Jeffrey Pine), Cercocarpus ledifolius (Curl Leaf Mountain Mahogany), and the picturesque Populus tremuloides (Quaking Aspen).
His most significant discovery came in 1938, when he discovered a pair of perfectly preserved shredded sagebrush bark sandals at Fort Rock in Oregon that were radiocarbon dated from 10,500 to 9,300 years old, making them the oldest footwear ever discovered.
The Artemisia tridentata/Agropyron spicatum association is a drier habitat which includes many forbs such as Allium acuminatum, Agoseris grandiflora, Lomatium nudicaule, and Lupinus sericeus.