Vern.: tatwan, nagdowna.

A. superba Pamp. in Nuov. Giorn. Bot. Ital. n. s. 36: 473. 1930.

A perennial, large, basally suffruticose shrub with several, closely growing, erect, simple cinereous or tomentose to glabrous, striate to shallowly grooved, reddish-tinged, (30-) 50-18 (-200) cm tall stems from the upright, 1.5-2 cm thick rootstock. Leaves densely whitish arachnoid hairy beneath, green and sparsely hairy to glabrous above, basally articulate; basal leaves petiolate, lamina broadly ovate, 5-12 (-15) x 3-6 (-8) cm, unipinnatisect into elliptic-ovate, pinnatifid primary segments with acute lobes; middle and upper stem leaves sessile to subsessile, deeply pinnate; uppermost in floral region undivided, lanceolate, entire, acute. Capitula heterogamous, numerous, subsessile, oblong, 3-4 x c. 2 mm, erect to ± nodding, in 10-40 x 5-25 cm, broadly pyramidate panicle with 5-20 cm long, upwardly directed primary and secondary branches. Involucre 4-seriate, phyllaries greyish arachnoid pubescent outside; outermost ovate, 1.5 x c. 1 mm, narrowly scarious on margins, acute; inner elliptic-oblong, c. 2 x 1.75 mm, broadly pale scarious margined, obtuse. Receptacle glabrous, hemispherical. Florets 10-30, yellow with reddish tinge; marginal florets 5-10, female, fertile, with 1.75-2 mm long, bidentate, glandulose corolla tube; disc florets 5-20, bisexual, fertile, with 1.5-2 mm long, narrowly tubular-campanulate 5-toothed glandulose corolla. Cypselas light brown, c. 1 mm long, finely striate.

Fl. Per.:August-November.

Type: Described from Europe, Herb. Linn. 988.41 (LINN).

Distribution: North Africa, Europe eastwards to Caucasia, Turkestan, Siberia, Iran , Afghanistan, Pakistan, N. W. India; introduced and naturalised in N. America.

A highly polymorphic and widespread species in which a number of infraspecific taxa have been recognized. The infusion of leaves is said to be given in fever. The tomentum is used as moxa.