Annual herb, erect with ascending branches, up to 20 cm high; indumentum of curved hairs. Occasionally leaves and alae tinged red. Leaves linear to elliptic, lanceolate to ovate, rarely obovate, 6–46 mm long, 2.5–14.0 mm wide; apex acute, obtuse or occasionally emarginate, mucro c. 0.4 mm long; petiole 0–1 mm long. Inflorescence supra-axillary or axillary, sometimes a solitary flower arising along internodes or usually a raceme to 70 mm long, usually not exceeding the leaves, sometimes longer than leaves. Pedicel to 3 mm long. Alae perpendicular in fruit (position), herbaceous, ovate, elliptic or obovate, dimidiate, 4.95–8.00 mm long, 1.9–4.2 mm wide, glabrous or with curved hairs. Corolla purple; floral appendages fimbriate; upper petal claw c. 0.7 mm wide. Stamens terminate at stigma, monadelphous; staminal flap c. 0.6 mm wide. Style hooked (horseshoe-shaped at apex), ± terete, becoming dorso-ventrally flattened below hook and twisting in apical half, with flat stigma along inner surface of hook. Capsule perpendicular, becoming reflexed, ± aligned with alae (sometimes apex of alae diverging from capsule), lacking wing, oblong to obovate, 4–5 mm long, 2.7–3.5 mm wide; lobe apices rounded and separated. Seed ovoid–obloid, 3.4–4.2 mm long, 1.1–1.5 mm wide, with indumentum with fine white or ferruginous hairs. Aril head helmet-shaped, 0.6–1.0 mm long, white or white and brown, rarely all brown, with short erect hairs. Aril appendages 3, linear, 0.4–2.0 mm long.
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