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Annual herb without basal leaf rosette.. Stems 30–70 cm high, unbranched except for inflorescence, stem angles smooth.. Leaves ascending or erect, sessile, linear-lanceolate, linear-oblong or linear, blade 15–43 mm long, 5–8 mm wide, acute, amplexicaul.. Inflorescences much branched cymes, partial inflorescences many, each 5–6-flowered; pedicels 3–10 mm long, pedicel of the terminal flower always shorter than pedicels of lateral flowers; bracteoles linear-lanceolate or linear, 10–16 mm long, 1–3 mm wide, acute.. Flowers 5-merous.. Calyx lobes: 2 wider than others, oblong-lanceolate or lanceolate, 1.8–4.5 mm long, 0.5–1 mm wide, acute.. Corolla white or creamy white; tube very short, 0.8–0.9 mm long; lobes elliptic or elliptic-obovate, 4–11 mm long, 2–5.5 mm wide, acute or with recurved apices; nectaries 2 per lobe, yellow, circular or eliptic(-oblong), 0.3–1.1 mm in diameter, 0.7–0.8 mm apart, 2.4–3 mm from base of lobes, margin fimbriate, fimbriae 1.1–2.8 mm long.. Stamens with filaments 3.3–4.8 mm long, scale-like projections present at their point of attachment to corolla lobes; anthers oblong, 0.9–1.3 mm long.. Ovary oblong, 4–5.5 mm long, 1–2 mm diameter; style obsolete; stigma bilobed, lobes 0.7–0.8 long, 1–1.1 mm wide, obtuse, forming a crescent-shaped rim at the apex of capsule valves; parietal placentae indistinct.. Capsule oblong, 9–14 mm long, 3–5 mm diameter.. Seeds brown, 0.4–0.5 mm in diameter, surface reticulate.
Basal leaves usually soon disappearing; cauline leaves erect or suberect; leaf lamina 15–45 x 1.5–7 mm., linear-lanceolate, subobtuse or subacute at the apex; basal and sub-basal shorter and broader than the cauline ones, usually narrowed at the base into a short petiole-like claw, all 3-nerved from the base.
Flowers 5-merous, pure white, cream or white or with dark purple veins, terminal in the axil of the upper leaves or in 1-many flowered cymes, arranged in a subcorymbose inflorescence; bracts 1–10 mm. long, linear; pedicels 1.5–4 cm. long.
Corolla divided almost to the base; tube 0.75 mm. long; lobes 6–10 x 2.5–4 mm., oblong-obovate to elliptic, rounded at the apex, each lobe with a pair of fimbriate nectaries within, near the base.
Calyx divided almost to the base; lobes slightly unequal, 2–7 x 1.5 mm., linear-lanceolate or linear-oblong, acute or subacute at the apex.
Ovary 4–6 x 2.5 mm., narrowly-ellipsoid, slightly compressed, narrowed into a short stout style; stigma bilobed, papillate.
Stamens inserted in the sinuses; filaments 3.5–5 mm. long; anthers 0.5–1.5 x 0.25–0.5 mm., narrowly-ellipsoid, brown.
Capsule (5) 6–10 x 1.5–3 mm., narrowly-ellipsoid, slightly exserted, splitting into two valves.
Stem slender, 1–3 mm. in diam., unbranched or branching at the apex, rarely from the base.
Seeds subglobose, numerous, 0.3 mm. in diam.; testa faveolate.
Annual, erect herb up to (12) 25–80 cm. tall.
