Intricately branched, greyish shrub to c. 2 m high and wide, often apparently leafless, stems striate. Leaves soon deciduous, linear to narrowly elliptic, 1–6 cm long, 2–10 mm wide, thin-textured, apex and base acute; petiole to c. 5 mm long. Flowers sessile or subsessile, clustered in axils or in interrupted, axillary and/or terminal spikes to c. 10 cm long; perianth segments 2–4 mm long, fused in lower half, yellow-green, commonly reddish-tinged, female flowers elongating to 5 mm and becoming slightly thickened in fruit. Nut narrowly ovoid, 3–4 mm long, trigonous to triquetrous, the faces flat or shallowly concave, smooth, brown. Flowers mainly Oct.–Mar.