a perennial rhizomatous, herbaceous plant of the family Compositae. The stems are not ramose; the leaves are alternate, deeply pinnatisect with dentate lobes, and gossamer-pubescent or, more rarely, naked. The fruits are brownish ellipsoid achenes with a plumose pappus. Rhaponticum carthamoides is found primarily in Siberia (the Saians, the Altai, Kuznetsk Alatau), predominantly at altitudes of 1,700-2,000 m above sea level. It is cultivated as a medicinal plant. Its rhizome and roots contain inulin, essential oils, resins, salts of organic acids, and other substances. Preparations from this plant are recommended as stimulants of the central nervous system, increasing a person’s ability to work when experiencing mental and physical fatigue.