Drymaria villosa Cham. & Schltdl.

Prostrate or ascending herbaceous annuals to as much as 45 cm. long, the inter-nodes mostly longer than the leaves, villose to hirsute with septate hairs to as much as 2 mm. long. Leaves opposite, scantily to densely villose or hirsute with cinereous or ochraceous hairs, orbicular to reniform, apically rounded to acute and apiculate, basally cordate to truncate, weakly 3-7-veined, 5-15 mm. long, 5-15 mm. broad; petioles 1-10 mm. long, the stipules mostly entire, scarcely distinguishable from the villosity, 0.5-1.5 mm. long. Inflorescences of terminal 5-many-flowered cymes, the ultimate branches often tending to be racemose; peduncles 1-5 cm. long; bracts 0.5-1.5 mm. long, the pedicels 2-20 mm. long, villose. Sepals 5, 2-3.6 mm. long, 1-2 mm. broad, narrowly to broadly ovate or elliptic, apically acute to obtuse, villose to glabrous, weakly 3-nerved, with translucent borders; petals 5 (absent or drastically reduced in forms passing as D. tepicana) , 2-3.6 mm. long, bifid for half their length or more, the lobes apically acute to deeply emarginate, 2-4-nerved, basally provided with linear auricles, these very variable in number and orientation; stamens usually 5, 2-3.5 mm. long, the oblong anthers 0.3-0.5 mm. long, the filaments shallowly connate, devoid of staminodia; ovary at anthesis ovoid to globose; styles 3, united for half their length or more, 1-1.5 mm. long; ovules numerous, campylotropous on free central placentae. Capsule ovoid to ellipsoid, 2-3.5 mm. long, many-seeded (rarely as few as two in D. tepicana), the seeds cochleate, 0.5-0.9 mm. broad, the dorsal tubercles filiform to capitate or subpinnate, longer than broad, the facial tubercles stellate.

A tropical plant. In Nepal it grows between 1000-1900 m altitude.

The tender leaves are cooked as a vegetable.

Plants can be grown by seed or by stems which have rooted at the nodes.