Artemisia capillaris Thunberg subf. angustisecta Pampanini; A. capillaris f. elegans (Roxburgh) Pampanini; A. capillaris f. kohatica (Klatt) Pampanini; A. capillaris f. myriocephala Pampanini; A. capillaris var. scoparia (Waldstein & Kitaibel) Pampanini; A. capillaris subf. tenuifolia Pampanini; A. capillaris f. villosa Pampanini; A. capillaris f. williamsonii Pampanini; A. elegans Roxburgh; A. kohatica Klatt; A. scoparia var. heteromorpha Kitagawa; A. scoparia f. sericea Komarov; A. scopariiformis Popov; Oligosporus scoparius (Waldstein & Kitaibel) Poljakov.

Herbs, perennial, biennial, or annual, 40-90(-130) cm tall, much branched from lower on stem; branches and leaves gray or yellowish sericeous-pubescent, later glabrescent, strongly aromatic. Lower stem leaves: petiole 2-4 cm; leaf blade ovate-oblong or elliptic, 1.5-3.5 × 1-3 cm, 2- or 3-pinnatisect; segments 3 or 4 pairs; lobules 1 or 2 pairs, 3-5 × 0.2-1 mm. Middle stem leaves sessile; leaf blade oblong or ovate-oblong, 1-2 × 0.5-1.5 cm, 1- or 2-pinnatisect; segments 2 or 3 pairs; lobules filiform, usually curved, 4-8 × 0.2-0.3(-0.5) mm. Uppermost leaves and leaflike bracts 3-5-sect. Synflorescence a broad panicle. Capitula many, shortly pedunculate or sessile. Involucre subglobose, rarely ovoid, 1-1.5(-2) mm in diam. Marginal female florets 5-7. Disk florets 4-10, male. Achenes obovoid or oblong. Fl. and fr. Jul-Oct. 2n = 16, 18, 36.

Artemisia scoparia is well known as an ingredient of diuretic and detoxifying medicines.

Slopes, forest margins, roadsides, steppes, terraces, desert margins, dry riverbeds; low elevations to 3200 m. Anhui, Fujian, Gansu, Guangdong, Guangxi, Guizhou, Hebei, Heilongjiang, Henan, Hubei, Hunan, Jiangsu, Jiangxi, Jilin, Liaoning, Nei Mongol, Ningxia, Qinghai, Shaanxi, Shandong, Shanxi, Sichuan, Xinjiang, Xizang, Yunnan, Zhejiang [Afghanistan, India, Japan, Korea, Pakistan, Russia, Thailand; C and SW Asia, Europe].