Description

Key Characters:

Growth Form: Annual or short-lived perennial herbs.

Stems: Stems succulent, sometimes slightly woody at base, spreading or cespitose, 5–50 cm long, stems diffuse, branched.

Roots:

Leaves: Leaves simple. Opposite, crowded throughout stem length. Blades obovate, elliptic, oblanceolate, or oblong; 2–10 mm long, 1–4 mm wide, those of a pair very unequal in size, sometimes some branches with leaves of a pair equal or all leaves of plant equal, 1–nerved. Upper surfaces with crowded elliptic cystoliths; lower surfaces finely reticulate. Margins entire. Petioles 1–4 mm long, always shorter than the blade. Stipules ca. 1 mm long.

Flowers: Flowers in sessile glomerules or cymes, peduncles 1–6 mm long. Flowers unisexual (and the plants monoecious or dioecious). Calyx lobes glabrous, each with a blunt, dorsal, apiculate appendage; outer Calyx lobe slightly longer than others with inconspicuous dorsal, apiculate appendages. Corolla (petals) absent. Staminate flowers 0.6–1 mm long; filaments incurved in bud, elastically reflexed when pollen is shed; anthers dithecal, opening by longitudinal slits. Ovary superior (pistillate flowers), 0.8–1 mm long, psuedomonomerous, 1-celled; ovule 1, basal; style 1; staminate flower ovary vestigial and sterile.

Fruit: Achenes uniformly light brown; slightly compressed; ovoid-cylindric; ca. 0.5(-1.1) × 0.3 mm; smooth. Achenes ellipsoid; compressed; 0.5–1 mm long; slightly longer than the largest calyx lobe. Seeds 1 per achene.

Ploidy: 2n = 36

Habitat: Mesic; disturbed areas.

Elevation Range: Low elevation.