Undershrub with woody rootstock, up to 1.2 m high. Stem erect, reddish, hairy, 4-gonous, simple or ± branched. Leaves 10-16 x 2.5-5 mm, subappressed, alternate, decussate or 3-4-nate, lanceolate, acute at the apex, margin very revolute, sagittate-cordate at the base, hairy, 1-nerved. Dichasia 1-7-flowered, the flowers homomorphic, subsessile; outer bracteoles c. 1.25 mm long, boat-shaped, the inner ones shorter, hairy. Calyx 2.5-3 mm long, light green striped wine-red, 4-gonous, hairy; lobes very short, connivent; appendages twice as long as the lobes. Petals 0-4, c. 1 mm long, yellowish. Stamens 4, rarely 8 (fide Hiern), opposite to the petals, inserted about the middle of the calyx-tube, with filaments c. 1.5 mm long, reaching the stigma and exceeding the appendages. Ovary ellipsoid, 2-locular; style exserted, c. 1.5 mm long, deep wine-red. Capsule ellipsoid, dark red, exceeding the calyx. Seeds c. 0.3 mm long, brownish, concave-convex.
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