Rhaponticum carthamoides

Rhaponticum carthamoides, synonym Leuzea carthamoides, is a species of herbaceous perennial plant in the family Asteraceae. It is known as maral root or rhaponticum. It inhabits the sub-alpine zone (4500 - 6000 ft above sea level) as well as alpine meadows. It can be found growing wild in Southern Siberia, Kazakhstan, the Altay region, and Western Sayan Mountains. Maral root is widely cultivated throughout Russia and Eastern Europe. This plant derives its traditional name maral root (maralu) from the maral deer that fed on it.

R. carthamoides is high in 20-hydroxyecdysone, one of the most common molting hormones in insects, crabs, and some worms and can disrupt their molting and reproduction.