Dioecious, glabrous, erect, caespitose, scopiform perennial herb up to 60 cm., with several stems arising from a stout woody stock.. Orthotropic stems subterete, longitudinally ridged when dry, greenish. Plagiotropic shoots 6–12 cm. long, the older ones sometimes co-axillary with secondary orthotropic shoots.. Cataphylls subulate, 1 mm. long, tawny. Cataphyllary stipules broadly triangular, 1.5 mm. long, denticulate or subentire, purplish brown.. Leaves of the plagiotropic shoots rather lax, subsessile.. Leaf-blades narrowly elliptic-oblong or elliptic-oblanceolate to linear-oblong, (4–)5–7(–10) mm. long, 1 mm. wide, obtuse, subacute or acute, mucronate, margins involute, attenuate to the base, coriaceous, midrib and nerves invisible, glaucous-grey-green.. Stipules narrowly triangular-lanceolate, 1 mm. long, subentire, brownish.. Male flowers solitary or paired, ♀ solitary, in the axils of the upper half of the flowering shoots.. Male flowers: pedicels 1 mm. long; sepals 6, ovate-elliptic, 2 mm. long, 1 mm. wide, obtuse to rounded, white; disc-glands 6, free, ± discoid, minutely verruculose or ± smooth; stamens 3, filaments connate to form a column 0.75 mm. high, anthers completely sessile and united, 2-lobed, ± vertically held, 0.5 mm. long, obliquely dehiscent.. Female flowers: pedicels 2 mm. long, extending to 8 mm. in fruit; sepals 6, in 2 series, the outer elliptic-ovate, 2 mm. long, 1 mm. wide, accrescent to 3 mm. long and 1.5 mm. wide in fruit, the inner elliptic-oblong and slightly smaller, obtuse or rounded, creamy white, sometimes pink tinged, with a hyaline margin; disc annular, crenulate, thick, fleshy, supporting the ovary; ovary sessile, hexalobate-subglobose, 1 mm. diameter, smooth; styles connate at the base, 0.5 mm. long, suberect, bifid, the stigmas recurved.. Fruit subglobose, 2 mm. long, 3 mm. diameter, smooth, pinkish.. Seeds triquetrous, 1.8 mm. long, with 20 shallow longitudinal ridges on the dorsal facet, and 12 shallow concentric ridges on each ventral facet, with innumerable transverse striae between the ridges, pale greyish brown.
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Female flowers: pedicels 2 mm long, extending to 8 mm in fruit; sepals accresent to 3.5 × 1.5 mm in fruit, reddish-green with a narrow hyaline margin, otherwise as in the male; disk 1 mm in diameter, annular, colliform, thick, slightly crenulate; ovary 0.6 mm in diameter, sessile, 6-lobed, subglobose, smooth; styles 3, ± free, 1.4 mm long, suberect, bifid, the stigmas slightly recurved.
Male flowers: pedicels 1 mm long; sepals 6, 2 × 1 mm, oblong, obtuse to rounded, creamy-white, often pink-tinged; disk glands 6, free, 0.3 mm in diameter, rounded, minutely verruculose; stamens 3, filaments connate into a column 1 mm high, anthers 0.5 mm long, sessile, contiguous, vertically held, soleiform, obliquely dehiscent.
Seeds 1.8–2 × 1.5 × 1.5 mm, segmentiform, pale greyish-brown, with 20–28 shallow darker longitudinal ridges on the dorsal facet, and 12–17 concentric ridges on each ventral facet, with innumerable parallel transverse striae between them.
Leaf blades 4–10 × 0.5–1 mm, narrowly elliptic-to oblong-linear, subacute or acute, sometimes mucronate, margins usually involute, tapered to the base, thinly coriaceous, grey-green or glaucous; nerves invisible.
An erect virgate tufted perennial herb up to 60 cm tall, glabrous, dioecious; stems numerous wiry, arising from a stout carrot-shaped woody rootstock.
Foliage leaves spirally disposed; petioles 0.3 mm long or leaves subsessile; stipules 1 mm long, linear-lanceolate, brownish.
Scale leaves 1 mm long, subulate; stipules 1.25 mm long, triangular, auriculate adaxially, purplish-brown.
Lead shoots leafy or not, often reddish-green; lateral shoots 5–15 cm long, vertically disposed.
Fruit 3 × 4 mm, subglobose, smooth, greenish, often pinkish-tinged.
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