Herbs perennial, weak, stoloniferous, dioecious or monoecious. Stems erect, often branched underground, 5-25 cm tall, 1.5-2 mm in diam., woody at base, succulent distally; upper stems, petioles, and inflorescences with multicellular hairs. Stipules soon deciduous, brownish, oblong-lanceolate, membranous; petiole slightly unequal in length, 5-30 mm; leaf blade elliptic or ovate-elliptic, slightly unequal in size, 1.5-8 × 1-4 cm, submembranous, 3-veined, lateral veins 10-13 each side, inconspicuous, abaxial surface pubescent, adaxial surface sparsely multicellular pilose, cystoliths minute, shortly fusiform or punctate, inconspicuous only at margins, base broadly cuneate or obtuse, margin sharply dentate, apex caudate-acuminate, acumen sharply denticulate. Inflorescence glomerules several, in moniliform spikes, sometimes few branched, rarely capitate, 1-4 cm overall, peduncle 0.5-2.5 cm; bracts ovate-oblong, ca. 0.6 mm. Male flowers purplish, ovoid, ca. 1 mm; perianth lobes 4, subapically inconspicuously corniculate; stamens 4; rudimentary ovary minute. Female perianth lobes unequal, abaxial lobe somewhat hooded, 1/2 as long as achene, lateral 2 lobes triangular-ovate, shorter, membranous. Achene ovoid, ca. 1 mm, slightly compressed, slightly oblique, verrucose, enclosed by persistent perianth. Fl. Jun-Jul, fr. Aug-Sep.
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