Description

Key Characters:

Growth Form: Annual herb.

Stems: Stems ascending, 2–4 dm long, unbranched to many-branched, sparsely glandular puberulent.

Roots:

Leaves: Leaves simple. Leaves clustered at the nodes in 2 opposite sets of 6–8 leaves each. Blades narrowly linear to subulate, 10–30mm long, ca. 0.5 mm wide. Apex acute. Bases often connate around the stem. Surfaces glandular puberulent. Margins entire. Petioles absent. Stipules small, connate.

Flowers: Flowers in terminal, cymose panicles. Flowers bisexual (perfect), actinomorphic. Pedicels slender, 7–15 mm long. Calyx of 5 sepals; sepals ovate, obtuse, 2–3 mm long, glandular puberulent; distinct, nearly distinct, or connate into a conspicuous tube. Corolla of 5 petals; petals white, slightly shorter to slightly longer than sepals. Stamens (5)10; distinct or adnate to petals at base to form a short tube, which may be adnate to the gynophore or sometimes adnate to lower part of calyx, petaloid staminodes sometimes present; anthers dithecal, opening by longitudinal slits. Ovary superior; styles 5, distinct, filiform, 0.4–0.6 mm, glabrous proximally; stigmas 5, linear along adaxial surface of styles.

Fruit: Capsules ovoid; 3–4 mm long. Seeds blackish; globose; ca. 1 mm in diameter; minutely white papillose and white–margined or very narrowly winged; perisperm starchy; hard or rarely soft; true endosperm absent.

Ploidy: 2n = 18; 36

Habitat: Sparingly naturalized on disturbed or cultivated ground.

Elevation Range: