Description

Key Characters:

Growth Form: Annual herbs, ± foetid.

Stems: Stems erect, to ca. 5–8 dm long, with a central stem and ascending lateral branches, at least sparsely mealy pubescent.

Roots:

Leaves: Leaves simple. Alternate. Blades rhombic–ovate to lanceolate, principal ones with 2 basal lobes and a much larger, lanceolate, central lobe, smaller leaves at least sometimes unlobed, 1–3 cm long, 0.5–1.5 cm wide. Apex bluntly acute. Base cuneate to broadly cuneate. Surfaces usually densely mealy pubescent. Margins usually remotely dentate to subentire. Petioles up to ca. 1 cm long. Stipules absent.

Flowers: Flowers in small, dense glomerules grouped into leafy, terminal and axillary, paniculate spikes. Flowers bisexual (perfect), small. Calyx (3–)5-lobed, ca. 0.8–1 mm long, completely enclosing the fruit at maturity, the lobes ovate, moderately keeled, mealy pubescent, persistent. Corolla (petals) absent. Stamens 1–5; anthers dithecal, opening by longitudinal slits. Ovary superior, 2–3(–5)-carpellate, 1-celled, placentation basal; ovule 1; styles 2–5; stigmas dry.

Fruit: Utricles. Seeds 1 per fruit; horizontal; 1.1–2 mm in diameter; alveolate; the individual alveoli separated by grooves.

Ploidy: 2n = 36

Habitat:

Elevation Range: