Artemisia vulgaris Linnaeus var. mongolica Fischer ex Besser, Tent. Abrot. 53. 1833; A. mongolica f. debilis Pampanini; A. mongolica var. krascheninnikovii Pampanini, p.p.; A. mongolica subsp. orientalis Kitagawa; A. obscura Pampanini; A. obscura var. congesta Pampanini, p.p.; A. obscura var. regina Pampanini; A. rubripes Nakai f. gracilis Kitagawa; A. vulgaris var. coarctica Forbes ex Besser, p.p.; A. vulgaris var. tenuifolia Turczaninow ex Ledebour, nom. illeg. superfl.

Herbs, perennial, 40-120 cm tall, sparsely arachnoid pubescent. Middle stem leaves: petiole 5-20 mm; leaf blade ovate, suborbicular, or elliptic-ovate, sparsely gray arachnoid pubescent adaxially, densely arachnoid tomentose abaxially, 2-pinnatisect; segments 2 or 3 pairs; lobules lanceolate, linear, or linear-lanceolate, acute apically. Uppermost leaves and leaflike bracts ovate or elliptic-ovate, pinnatisect or 3- or 5-sect. Capitula in ± narrow panicles, ellipsoid, 1.5-2 mm in diam. Phyllaries gray arachnoid pubescent. Marginal female florets 5-10. Disk florets 8-15, bisexual. Achenes obovoid-oblong. Fl. and fr. Aug-Oct. 2n = 16, 18.

Slopes, shrublands, riverbanks, lakeshores, roadsides, steppes, forest steppes, dry valleys; low elevations to 2000 m. Anhui, N Fujian, Gansu, N Guangdong, Guizhou, Hebei, Heilongjiang, Henan, Hubei, Hunan, Jiangsu, Jiangxi, Jilin, Liaoning, Nei Mongol, Ningxia, Qinghai, Shaanxi, Shandong, Shanxi, Sichuan, Taiwan, Xinjiang [Kazakhstan, Korea, Kyrgyzstan, Russia, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan].