褐头蒿 he tou hao

Artemisia sericea (Besser) Weber var. turkestanica C. Winkler.

Herbs, perennial, ± caespitose, 20-40(-50) cm tall, puberulent. Stems several, usually not branched. Basal and middle stem leaves: petiole 8-12 mm; leaf blade suborbicular or orbicular-reniform, 1-2.5(-3.5) × 1-2(-3) cm, 2-pinnatisect; segments 3-5 pairs, 3-lobulate; lobules lanceolate, 5-10 × 2-4 mm, margin serrate, rarely entire, apex obtuse. Uppermost leaves and bracts 3-lobed; lobes linear or linear-lanceolate. Synflorescence a racemelike panicle, compact near apex and lax near base. Capitula shortly pedunculate, nodding. Involucre globose or subglobose, 5-7 mm in diam.; phyllaries with wide brown scarious margin; receptacle hemispheric, densely pubescent. Marginal female florets 10-15; corolla narrowly conical or tubular, 2- or 3-toothed. Disk florets 40-60, bisexual; corolla limb puberulent. Achenes ellipsoid. Fl. and fr. Jul-Oct. 2n = 36.

Deserts or subalpine steppes, rocky hills; 1200-3500 m. NW Gansu, Qinghai, Xinjiang [Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan].