Biennials, 20-80(-150) cm. Stems usually 1. Leaves: basal rosettes not persistent (faces green and glabrous or sparsely white-pubescent). Heads in arrays 12-30(-35) × 1-8(-12) cm. Involucres turbinate, 2-3 × 2-3 mm. Flowering early-late summer. Open meadows, usually moist soils, sometimes sandy or rocky habitats; 10-1000 m; Ont., Que., Sask.; Ark., Colo., Conn., Fla., Ill., Ind., Iowa, Kans., Maine, Mass., Mich., Minn., Miss., Mo., Mont., Nebr., N.H., N.J., N.Mex., N.Y., N.C., N.Dak., Ohio, Okla., Pa., R.I., S.C., S.Dak., Tex., Vt., Wis. A population of Artemisia campestris found in Massachusetts differs from populations of subsp. caudata by its smaller heads and multiple branched stems. That population is typical of subsp. campestris, formerly believed to be restricted to Europe.