A semi-woody plant of thin, erect habit, with pithy stems 6 to 8 ft high, glabrous or furnished with a little grey down. Leaves trebly pinnate, the final divisions thin and thread-like; the entire leaf is 2 to 3 in. long, and the same wide; dark green. Flower-heads nodding, 1⁄8 in. across, yellowish green; produced in August in tall, slender panicles 12 to 20 in. long, the lower portion composed of racemes springing from the axils of the uppermost leaves.
Native of S.E. Europe and Asia Minor. Although rather elegant in late summer and autumn, when its tall stems are surmounted by their flower-panicles, the plant is of only third-rate value in gardens. It is quite hardy, and has lived outside for many years at Kew without protection. The leaves when crushed have a slightly pungent aroma.