A. sacrorum Ledeb. var. minor Ledeb., Fl. Alt. 4: 72. 1833; A. sacrorum var. santolinifolia (Turcz. ex Besser) Pamp. in Nuov., Giorn. Bot. Ital. n. s. 34: 693. 1927.

Caespitose, basally woody perennial with numerous, occasionally solitary, erect, very straight, branched above, brownish-violet, sparsely pubescent to glabrous, ridged and furrowed stem from much branched, 1 – 1.5 cm thick, woody rootstock. Leaves with up to 2.5 cm long petiole, articulate, lamina sparsely hairy to glabrous above, laxly arachnoid hairy beneath, ovate or broadly triangular-ovate, 2 – 4 (-5) x 1.5 – 2.5 (-3) cm; lower 3-pinnatisect, rachis with 3-6, ± alternate, elliptic or lanceolate primary segments and lobules on both sides; upper leaves in floral region 1-2-pinnatisect or simple and entire; ultimate segments 1 – 4 x 0.3 – 1 mm, narrowly lanceolate-linear, acute. Capitula shortly peduncled or ± sessile, remote or approximate towards branch apices, almost globose, 3 – 5 mm across, many-flowered, nodding in a leafy, narrowly pyramidate, 20 – 40 x 5 –12 cm, strict panicle with ascending, 5-10 cm long primary branches. Involucre 3-seriate, outermost phyllaries linear-oblong, c. 2 – 2.25 x 0.3 mm, green, not scarious margined, sparsely arachnoid; median phyllaries elliptic, c. 2 x 1.25 mm, with margins widely scarious hyaline, laxly hairy on green midrib region; innermost obovate, c. 2 x 1.25 mm, scarious hyaline. Receptacle convex, glabrous. Florets yellow, all fertile; marginal florets 10 – 12 with c. 1 mm long, glandulose, narrow, 2-toothed tube; disc-florets 50 – 60, with c. 1.25 mm long, 5-toothed, glabrous, gland bearing corolla tube. Cypselas brown, c. 1 mm long.

Fl. Per.: July-September.

Type: Described from Siberia (LE).

Common in dry stony and scree places on slopes with sandy-clay soils in Kashmir, Ladak, Gilgit, Swat and Baltistan from 7000 ft. to 13000 ft; Distribution: Pakistan, N. W. India, Afghanistan, Soviet Union, Central Asia, China and Mongolia.