Herbs perennial, creeping rhizomatous, dioecious or monoecious, Stems glabrous. 15-100 cm tall, succulent, but woody at base, Stipules almost persistent, interpetiolar, deltoid, ca. 1 mm, herbaceous; petiole 0.6-5(-7) cm; leaf blade abaxially often purplish, often elliptic, sometimes elliptic-lanceolate, oblong-elliptic, or oblong-ovate, symmetric, often unequal or subequal in size, (1-)3-16 × (0.8-)1.5-7.5 cm, 3-veined, lateral veins 6-10 each side, glabrous adaxially, base broadly cuneate or rounded, margin crenate-serrulate or indistinctly undulate-crenate distally, rarely entire, apex cuspidate, acuminate, or acute. Inflorescence a cyme, racemelike or paniculate, spreading, 6-16 cm overall, peduncle 4-10 cm; female inflorescences captitate. Male flowers pedicellate, in bud obovoid, truncate at top, 1.5-2 mm in diam.; stamens 5; rudimentary ovary minute, conic or linear. Female perianth lobes oblong or boat-shaped; staminodes oblong. Achene rhombic-ovoid, ca. 2 mm, compressed, slightly elevated by margin, verrucose, enclosed by perianth lobes subequal to achene. Fl. Jul-Mar, fr. Sep-Jul.
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