Annual or rarely perennial; taproot slender to slightly fleshy; stems slender, diffuse, 5–35 cm long. Leaves linear, obtuse to mucronulate, hardly fasciculate, fleshy, 5–50 mm long, 0.6–1.5 mm wide, glabrous or glandular-hairy; stipules obtuse to scarely acuminate, (2–)2.5–3(–4) mm long, connate for c. one-third to half their length, not silvery. Inflorescence dense or occasionally lax, dichasial, upper branches becoming monochasial and appearing racemose; pedicels reflexed or not, filiform, c. equalling to longer than sepals, glabrous or glandular-hairy. Flowers 4–8 mm diam.; sepals (1.5–)2.5–4(–5) mm long, green or purplish with basal dots usually prominently blackish-red, with sparse to dense glandular hairs (0.15–)0.2–0.3(–0.4) mm long; petals sometimes reduced or 0, usually shorter than sepals, rose-purple, white at base; stamens (0–)2–5(–10), staminodes 0–3. Capsules narrow-ovoid, usually shortly exceeding sepals; seeds with thickened rim, (0.35–)0.6–0.8 (–0.9) mm long, smooth to densely translucent-papillose, orange-brown to deep red-brown, usually unwinged, or unwinged and winged in same capsule, the wing margin erose-denticulate. Flowers most of year.