Takhtajaniantha tau-saghyz is a species of plant in the family Asteraceae.Komarov, V. L. et al., eds. Flora SSSR; 1934-1964 (USSR).
It is endemic to Tajikistan, Uzbekistan and the Karatau Mountains of Kazakhstan in Central Asia.
Uses Takhtajaniantha tau-saghyz is of interest as a source of latex suitable for making natural rubber,Bonner, James, and Arthur W. Galston. The physiology and biochemistry of rubber formation in plants. December 1947, 13(10):543-596. The Botanical Review.Buranov, Anvar U., and Burkhon J. Elmuradov. Extraction and Characterization of Latex and Natural Rubber from Rubber-Bearing Plants. Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry, 2010 58(2):734-743. with latex (in old specimens on averaging 20%) contained in large roots and underground stems extending from them. The Soviet Union cultivated this species, together with Taraxacum hybernum and Taraxacum kok-saghyz, on a large scale between 1931 and 1950—notably during World War II—as an emergency source of rubber when supplies of rubber from Hevea brasiliensis in Southeast Asia were threatened.
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