Artemisia terrae-albae Krascheninnikov, Otchet Rabotakh Pochv.-Bot. Otryada Kazakhstansk. Eksped. Akad. Nauk S.S.S.R. 4(2): 269. 1930.

Herbs perennial, 8-15(-30) cm tall, with a thick rootstock, densely white arachnoid tomentose, sometimes partly glabrescent. Lower stem leaves: petiole short; leaf blade ovate, 1-2(-3) × 0.8-1 cm, 1- or 2-pinnatisect; segments 3 or 4 pairs; lobules linear, 2-3 × 0.3-0.5 mm. Middle and upper stem leaves pinnatisect; leaflike bracts linear. Synflorescence a lax, somewhat broad panicle. Involucre oblong-ovoid or ovoid, 1.5-3 mm in diam.; phyllaries keeled, white arachnoid pubescent. Florets 4 or 5. Achenes obovoid or ovoid. Fl. and fr. Aug-Oct.

Dunes, desert margins, Gobi Desert; low or middle elevations. N Xinjiang [Kazakhstan, Mongolia].