Artemisia japonica Thunb.

It can be easily distinguished by its oblong-obovate to flabellate, basally cuneate coarsely dentate to incised-dentate leaves. The plant is browsed by goats and sheep in Ladakh and Lahoul, but is not much liked by yaks.

Perennial, 50-90 cm tall herb with solitary or several, ± sulcate, branched, almost glabrous stems from woody, 1.5-2.5 cm thick, upright rootstock. Basal and lower stem leaves cuneate, oblong-obovate to flabellate, (3-) 5-8 (-10) cm long, coarsely dentate to incised-dentate at the apex; middle and upper stem leaves mostly basally auriculate, palmatifid to deeply palmatisect or irregularly incised laciniate into linear to narrow lanceolate, 4-15(-20) x c. 1 mm, acute segments. Capitula heterogamous, numerous, short to long pedunculate, broadly ovate to ± globose, 2.5-3 x 1.75-2 mm, nodding in a narrow or wide, 15-20 x 3-15 (-20) cm panicle, with almost horizontal or obliquely patent, 3-20 cm long branches. Involucre 3-4-seriate, phyllaries glabrous, loosely imbricate, outermost ovate, c. 1 x 0.75 mm, very narrwoly white scarious on margins, acute; inner ones elliptic-ovate, c. 2 x 1 mm, broadly white scarious margined, obtuse. Receptacle hemispherical, glabrous. Florets 12-15, yellow; marginal-florets 6-7, fertile, with c. 0.8 mm long, bidentate, narrow corolla tube and exserted, divergent style branches; disc-florets 7-8, functionally staminate, with tubular, c. 1.75 mm long, glandulose, 5-toothed corolla tube. Cypselas oblanceolate, c. 1 mm long, dark brown.

Distribution: Japan, Korea, China, Nepal, India, Pakistan, Eastern Afghanistan and Eastern Soviet Union (Ussuri).

Fl. Per.: July-September.

A fairly variable species, commonly found in gravel mixed sandy-clay soils from 1500 to 3500 m.

A. parviflora Roxb. ex D. Don, Prodr. Fl. Nepal. 181. 1825; Roxb., Fl. Ind. ed. 2. 3: 420. 1832; J. Stewart, Punj. Pl. 120. 1869; C.B.Clarke, Comp. Ind. 159. 1876; Hook. f., Fl. Brit. Ind. 3: 322. 1881; Kitam. in Hara, Fauna & Fl. Nepal Himal. 246. 1955; R. R. Stewart, Ann. Cat. Vasc. Pl. W. Pak. & Kashm. 718. 1972; A. glabrata DC. in Wight, Contr. Bot. Ind. 20: 1834; in Prodr. 6: 100. 1837; Wight, Ic. Pl. Ind. Or. 3: t. 1111. 1846; A. cuneifolia DC., l. c. 126; A. japonica var. parviflora (Roxb. ex D. Don) Pamp., l. c. 34: 665; Oligosporus japonicus (Thunb.) Poljakov in Tr. Inst. Bot. Akad. Nauk. Kazakh. SSR 11: 168. 1961; O. parviflorus (Buch.-Ham. ex Roxb.) Poljakov, l. c. 170.