Artemisia macrocephala Jacquem. ex Bess.

Annual, up to 20 (-30) cm tall, densely whitish-grey hairy herb with 6-8 cm long, well branched root. Stems several from the base or solitary, erect to ascending, ribbed, with 1.5-3 cm long internodes. Basal and lower stem leaves with 1.5-3 cm long, winged petiole, lamina broadly ovate to ± orbicular, 1.0-1.5 x 1.0-1.5 cm, bipinnatisect into linear-oblanceolate, 2.5- 4 x 0.5-1 mm, apically obtuse ultimate segments; medium and upper stem leaves subsessile to sessile, gradually reduced in size. Capitula remote, in simple, 10-12 cm long racemes, hemispherical, usually 6-10 mm across, nodding; lower peduncles slender, 8-12 mm long, upper ones smaller, curved. Involucre 4-seriate, outermost phyllaries linear-oblong, (3-) 4-5 mm long, densely hairy, obtuse; median phyllaries narrowly obovate, 3-4 x 1.5-2 mm, green and densely hairy to glabrescent on midrib, scarious-membranous alround; innermost ± elliptic-obovate, 3.5-4.5 x 1.75-2.5 mm, obtuse, scarious, glabrous. Receptacle hemispherical, 2.5-3 mm in diam., densely hairy. Florets numerous, all fertile, greenish-yellow; marginal florets female, eligulate, with c. 1.5 mm long, 2(-3)-dentate, basally broadened, glandular corolla, style branches exserted; disc-florets bisexual, with 5-toothed, densely glandular, c. 2 mm long, tubular corolla, anther appendages acute, ± exserted. Cypselas narrowly oblanceolate, 1-1.5 mm long, light brown.

Distribution: China, Mongolia, Tibet, Russia (Siberia, Tian Shan, Pamir Alai), India, Pakistan and Afghanistan.

Fl. Per.: June-August.

A species of high altitudes, commonly growing in sandy and grassy slopes near streams and glaciers between 3400 and 5500 m from sea level.

A. griffithiana Boiss., Diag. Pl. Or. Nov. Ser. 2, 3: 31. 1856; Fl. Or.. 3: 376. 1875; A. sieversiana var. pygmaea Krylov, Fl. Alt. 3: 656. 1904.