Plants perennial, straggling to scandent, from elongate rhizomes. Stems ascending, often decumbent at base, branched, 4-sided, 10-60 cm, uniformly and softly pubes-cent. Leaves sessile; blade ovate to ovate-lanceolate, widest proxi-mal to middle, 1-4.5 cm × 4-20 mm, base round, margins densely ciliate, apex shortly acuminate, pubescent on both surfaces. Inflorescences terminal, 5-many-flowered, leafy cymes; bracts foliaceous, 4-40 mm, margins ciliate, not scarious. Pedicels ascending to erect, straight, spreading to reflexed at base in fruit, 5-20 mm. Flowers 9-10 mm diam.; sepals (4-)5, 3-veined, lanceolate, 2.8-5 mm, margins narrow, scarious, apex acuminate, ciliate-pubescent mainly on margins and veins; petals 5, 4-6 mm, equaling or slightly longer than sepals, blade apex deeply 2-fid; stamens 10; styles 3, ascending, ca. 1.5 mm. Capsules green to straw colored, lanceoloid-ovoid, 5-6 mm, slightly longer than sepals, apex obtuse, opening by 3, tardily 6, ascending valves; carpophore absent. Seeds reddish brown, broadly and obliquely ovate, ± 1 mm diam., minutely rugose.
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