Cnicus carthamoides Willdenow, Sp. Pl. 3: 1686. 1803; Leuzea carthamoides (Willdenow) Candolle; Serratula carthamoides (Willdenow) Poiret; Stemmacantha carthamoides (Willdenow) Dittrich.

Herbs 60-90 cm tall. Stems simple, ca. 1 cm in diam., sparsely arachnoid. Leaves green, sparsely arachnoid along veins and margin. Lower and middle stem leaves shortly petiolate to subsessile; leaf blade elliptic, oblanceolate, or lanceolate, 13-25 × ca. 7 cm, pinnatipartite or subpinnatisect; lateral lobes or segments 5-8 pairs, lanceolate to narrowly lanceolate, margin serrate, apex attenuate-apiculate. Upper stem leaves sessile, lanceolate, decreasing in size upward, basally pinnatisect or pinnatipartite with 3 or 4 pairs of lateral segments or undivided, margin toothed. Capitulum 1. Involucre 4.5-6 cm in diam. Phyllaries in 10-12 rows; outer and middle phyllaries ovate to narrowly ovate, 5-10 × 4-5 cm excluding apical appendage, apically purplish red; appendage of middle phyllaries brown, ovate, broadly triangular, or subrhombic, to 7 × 7 mm, spreading to reflexed, villous; inner and innermost phyllaries lanceolate to linear-lanceolate, 15-18 × 2-3 mm excluding apical appendage; appendage of inner phyllaries brown, ovate, 6-8 × 2-5 mm, villous. Corolla ca. 2.5 cm. Achene brown, narrowly ellipsoid, ca. 7 mm, with denticulate rim at apex. Pappus elements yellowish to pale brown, longest ca. 1.8 cm, shortly plumose. Fl. and fr. Jul. 2n = 24.

The rhizomes are used medicinally.

Grasslands, meadows; 2000-2700 m. NW Xinjiang [Kazakhstan, Mongolia, Russia].