Dioecious perennial herbs, caespitose, with short rhizomes, erect divaricately-branched stems, and wiry roots. Leaves sessile, alternate, distichous, linear, the bases closely sheathing the stem, caducous. Flowers small, terminal. Male flowers in small cymes; sepals and petals shortly united, petaloid, almost equal, opening moderately widely; stamens inserted on perianth; anthers short; gynoecium reduced. Female flowers solitary, pedicellate; sepals and petals shortly united, persistent about fruit; stamens rudimentary; ovary 3-locular; stigma 3-lobed; ovule 1 per locule. Capsule ±globular, 1-3-seeded, smooth. Seeds ±obovoid.
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