6. Artemisia scoparia Waldst. & Kit., Pl. Rar. Hung. 1: 66. t. 65. 1802; Besser in Bull. Soc. Nat. Mosc. 8: 92. 1836; DC., Prodr. 6: 99. 1837; J. Stewart, Punj. Pl. 120. 1869; Boiss., Fl. Or. 3: 364. 1875; Hook. f., Fl. Brit. Ind. 3: 323. 1881; Burkill, Work. List Fl. Pl. Baloch. 54. 1909; Rech. f., Symb. Afghan. 2: 56. 1955; Poljakov in Schischk. & Bobrov, Fl. USSR 26: 560. 1961; R. R. Stewart, Ann. Cat. Vasc. Pl. W. Pak. & Kashm. 719. 1972; Cullen in P.H.Davis, Fl. Turk. 5: 322. 1975; Tsiang & Li, Icon. Corm. Sin. 4: 523. fig. 6460. 1975; Podlech in Rech. f., Fl. Iran. 158: 189. t. 176. 1986; Mandaville, Fl. East. Saudi Arab. 305. 1990.
Vern.: Jhau, Lasaj, dona, marua and Churi Saroj.
A. kohatica Klatt, Sitz. Ber. Math.-Phys. Cl. Acad. Wiss. Munchen 1878: 91. 1878; A. elegans Roxb., Hort. Beng. 61. 18; Fl. Ind. 3: 421. 1832.
Biennial or perennial, basally woody herb with solitary or several, branched in upper part, 40-80 (-90) cm tall, ± patulous hairy to mostly glabrous, purplish-brown tinged stems from upright branched rootstock. Basal and lower stem leaves with 1.5 cm long petiole, densely patulous hairy to almost glabrous, lamina ovate-orbicular, 4-7 x 2.5-5 cm, 2 (-3)-pinnatisect into linear or linear-lanceolate, 3-4 x 0.5-1 mm, acute segments; middle and upper stem leaves subsessile to sessile, auriculate, hairy or usually glabrous; uppermost in the floral region acicular with auricles. Capitula heterogamous, numerous, shortly pedunculate, oblong-globose, c. 2 x 1.5 mm, nodding in narrow to broadly pyramidate, 20-50 x 10-35 cm panicle with horizontally or ± obliquely patent or occasionally ± erect, 8-30 cm long primary and 2-8 cm long secondary branches. Receptacle conical, glabrous. Involucre 3-4-seriate, phyllaries glabrous, imbricate, outermost ovate-orbicular, c. 0.8 mm long, narrowly scarious margined, inner ones oblong-ovate, c. 1.25 x 0.8 mm, broadly hyaline scarious. Florets 10-12, yellow; marginal florets 5-6, fertile, with c. 0.7 mm long, tubular, 2-dentate corolla; disc-florets 5-6, functionally staminate, with c. 1.25 mm long, tubular, 5-toothed, glandular corolla. Cypselas oblong-oval, c. 0.8 mm long, brown.
Fl. Per.: July-November.
Type: Described from Hungary.
A very common plant growing in sandy-clay soils of arid desert tracts and low hills in stony ground wastelands, field borders and roadsides from 400 msl to 2200 msl after rainfall in the late summer months; Distribution: C & E Europe, Iraq, Turkey, Iran, Afghanistan, Pakistan (Balochistan, N. W. F. P., and Punjab), N. W. India, China, Mongolia, Russia.
Considered as a fodder for goats and a cure for pain in the ear. The smoke of twigs is considered good for burns and their infusion is given as a depurative.
