Herbs annual, with unicellular, vesicular hairs, becoming furfuraceous when dry. Leaves alternate, petiolate; leaf blade flattened, ovate, broadly so, or rhombic-ovate. Flowers minute, unisexual (plants monoecious). Male flowers enclosed in leaf axils at branchlet tips, without bractlets; perianth 5-parted to middle, submembranous; stamens 1-4, inserted at base of perianth; filaments exserted, filiform; anthers broadly elliptic, without an appendage. Female flowers 7-glomerulate, usually 1-3 developed, sessile, enclosed within a 3-lobed bract by folding of lateral lobes; perianth obscure, filiform; ovary ellipsoid, depressed and dorsiventrally compressed; ovule sessile; style very short; stigmas 2, capillary. Utricle obliquely ovoid, slightly dorsiventrally compressed, with small processes; pericarp membranous, adnate to seed. Seed vertical; testa crustaceous, puncticulate; embryo slender, horseshoe-shaped; perisperm farinaceous.

One species: China, Nepal, Sikkim; C Asia (Pamir mountains).