Dioecious completely glabrous erect or suberect perennial herb up to 40 cm. but more commonly to ± 20 cm., usually with several stems arising from a woody stock.. Orthotropic stems strongly longitudinally 6-ridged, green, sometimes reddish tinged. Plagiotropic shoots 2.5–10(–30) cm. long, the older ones occasionally co-axillary with secondary orthotropic shoots, remote, angular.. Cataphylls 0.. Stipules of the ortho-tropic shoots triangular to triangular-lanceolate, 1 mm. long, subentire or slightly denticulate, light brown with whitish margins, those of the plagiotropic shoots smaller and pinkish tinged.. Leaves of both types of shoots usually lax; petioles 0.3–0.5 mm. long; blades elliptic-obovate to narrowly elliptic-oblong, those of the lowest nodes usually broadest, 2–9 mm. long, 1–6 mm. wide, obtuse, mucronulate, rounded to rounded-cuneate, chartaceous, lateral nerves 4–5 pairs, indistinct or invisible above, slightly prominent beneath, glaucous, often with reddish margins.. Male flowers 2–3 per axil; pedicels ± 1 mm. long; sepals 6, the 3 outer broadly ovate, 1 mm. long and wide, rounded-obtuse, strongly cordate at the base, the 3 inner obovate, 1 mm. long, 0.75 mm. wide, rounded, attenuate at the base, pale greenish cream, sometimes pinkish or reddish tinged with white margins; disc-glands 6, free, ± rounded, shallowly verruculose, fleshy; stamens 3, filaments connate into a column 0.8 mm. high, anthers subsessile, vertically-held, hippocrepiform, 0.5 mm. long, ± longitudinally dehiscent.. Female flowers solitary; pedicels 1–1.5 mm. long; sepals 6, the 3 outer oblong, 2 mm. long, 1 mm. wide, obtuse, rounded-subcordate, the 3 inner elliptic-oblong and attenuate at the base, otherwise like the 3 outer, white with dull reddish median stripe; disc shallowly 6-lobed, the lobes undulate, fairly thick and fleshy, supporting the ovary; ovary hexalobate-subglobose, 1 mm. diameter, smooth; styles 0.5 mm., slightly connate at the base, suberect, bifid, stigmas tightly coiled, terete.. Fruit depressed-trilobate-subglobose, 1.5 mm. long, 2 mm. diameter, ± smooth, often reddish tinged.. Seeds triquetrous, 1 mm. long, 0.8 mm. wide, greyish brown, with 8 rows of shallow dark brown tubercles on the dorsal facet and ± 6 concentric arcs of such tubercles on each ventral facet, with innumerable faint transverse striae connecting the rows and arcs.
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