Description

Key Characters:

Growth Form: Shrubs, mainly 8–20 dm, as wide or wider, not especially armed.

Stems:

Roots:

Leaves: Leaves simple. Alternate. Blades linear to oblanceolate, oblong, or obovate, mainly 10–40 mm long × 3–8 mm wide. Apex retuse to obtuse. Margins entire. Sessile or nearly sessile. Stipules absent.

Flowers: Staminate flowers yellow (rarely brown), in clusters 2–3 mm wide, borne in panicles 3–15 cm; pistillate flowers borne in panicles 5–40 cm. Flowers unisexual, dioecious or rarely monoecious. Calyx of staminate flower 3–5 lobed; lobes oblong to obovate. Calyx of pistillate flowers absent, rarely present and 3–5-lobed, membranous. Corolla (petals) absent. Stamens 3–5 in staminate flowers, inserted on calyx at base; anthers dithecal, opening by longitudinal slits; Stamens absent in pistillate flowers. Ovary superior (pistillate flowers), 1-celled, placentation basal; ovule 1; stigmas 2, filiform, dry.

Fruit: Fruiting bracteoles 8–25 mm; as wide; on stipes 1–8 mm; with 4 prominent wings extending the bract length; united throughout; wings dentate to entire; apex toothed; surface of wings and body smooth or reticulate. Seeds 1 per fruit; 1.5–2.5 mm wide.

Ploidy: 2n = 18; 36+

Habitat:

Elevation Range: