39. Artemisia caruifolia Buchanan-Hamilton ex Roxburgh, Fl. Ind., ed. 1832,. 1832.
青蒿 qing hao
Herbs, annual or biennial, 30-150 cm, much branched, glabrous. Basal and lowermost stem leaves usually withering before anthesis. Middle stem leaves: petiole 5-10 mm; leaf blade oblong, oblong-ovate, or elliptic, 5-15 × 2-5.5 cm, abaxially green, 2- or 3-pinnatisect; segments 4-6 pairs, pectinate or lanceolate; lobules pectinate, acutely or acuminately serrate; rachis serrate. Uppermost leaves and leaflike bracts 1(or 2)-pinnatisect and pectinatisect. Synflorescence a moderately broad panicle. Capitula many; peduncle slender, 2-6 mm, nodding. Involucre hemispheric, 3.5-7 mm in diam.; phyllaries oblong, radiately spreading or not, scarious margin yellow. Marginal female florets 10-20; corolla ca. 1.5 mm. Disk florets 30-40, bisexual; corolla yellowish, ca. 1.8 mm. Achenes oblong or ellipsoid, ca. 1 mm. Fl. and fr. Jun-Sep.
Riverbanks, floodlands, waysides, outer forest margins, canyons, coastal beaches; low to high elevations. Anhui, Fujian, Guangdong, Guangxi, Guizhou, S Hebei, Henan, Hubei, Hunan, Jiangsu, Jiangxi, Jilin, Liaoning, S Shaanxi, Shandong, E Sichuan, Yunnan, Zhejiang [N India, Japan, Korea, Myanmar, Nepal, N Vietnam].
The epithet of this species has been given both as "caruifolia" and as "carvifolia" and is based on the similarity of the leaves to those of Carum carvi Linnaeus (Apiaceae). Both forms are therefore orthographically correct, depending on whether they are based on the genus name or the species epithet, and there is no case for regarding either as an orthographical error. The protologue actually gives the spelling as "carnifolia." It seems rather likely that the "n" is an upside-down "u" and that the correct spelling should be "caruifolia."
Artemisia caruifolia contains abrotanine used in anti-inflammatory and antifebrile drugs.
