Herbs, perennial, or subshrubs, prostrate to weakly ascending, perhaps to 50 cm tall; stems subterete to quadrate, glabrescent on sides, angles sharp to winged with wings to 0.1 mm wide, ciliolate to ciliate. Leaves sessile or subsessile; blade drying papery to leathery, oblong-elliptic, obovate, or spatulate, 8-15(-25) × 3-10 mm, both surfaces scaberulous-hispidulous and sometimes also hirtellous or hirsute, base cuneate to obtuse, margins scaberulous and often revolute, apex obtuse or rounded; secondary veins 2 or 3 pairs or not visible; stipules densely puberulent, sheath 1-2 mm, with 5-7 bristles 0.5-2(-6) mm. Inflorescences axillary, 5-8 mm in diam., with 1-6 flowers per axil; bracts linear or infrequently stipuliform, 1-5 mm. Calyx puberulent to hirtellous or scaberulous; hypanthium portion ellipsoid, 0.8-1 mm; lobes 4, linear to narrowly triangular, 1-1.5 mm, ciliolate or ciliate. Corolla perhaps pink to white, very slenderly funnelform to salverform, glabrous outside; tube (6.5-)9-10 mm, glabrous in throat; lobes triangular, 1-2 mm. Capsules ellipsoid to subglobose, sometimes slightly flattened perpendicular to septum, 2.2-2.5 × 1.5-2.5 mm, puberulent to hirtellous, pilosulous, and/or hispidulous, papery to cartilaginous, septicidal from apex with valves usually remaining connected at base, then both valves loculicidal through septum; seeds brown, oblong to elliptic-oblong in outline, 2-2.5 mm, obtuse at both ends, shiny, surface minutely granular or dimpled. Fl. and fr. May-Oct.
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