Herbs perennial. Rhizomes slender. Stems decumbent or suberect, 2-25(-43) cm tall, branched from base, glabrous. Petiole 0.8-1.5 cm; leaf blade narrowly elliptic or lanceolate to linear, 3-10 cm × 1.5-15 mm, base hastate or cuneate, margin entire, apex acute or obtuse; ocrea tubular, membranous, apex oblique, not ciliate. Inflorescence terminal, paniculate, lax, interrupted; bracts funnel-shaped, glabrous, each 4-6-flowered. Pedicel short, articulate above middle. Perianth yellow-green, 5-parted; tepals oblong, ca. 3 mm. Stamens 7 or 8, included; filaments dilated at base. Styles 3, short; stigmas capitate. Achenes slightly exceeding persistent perianth, black, shiny, ovoid, trigonous. Fl. and fr. Jun-Sep.

Roadsides, saline deserts, sands, riverbanks, wet places near saline lakes, saline areas by rivers; sea level to 5100 m. Anhui, Gansu, Hebei, Heilongjiang, ?Henan, Hubei, Hunan, Jiangsu, Jilin, Liaoning, Nei Mongol, Ningxia, Qinghai, Shaanxi, Shandong, Shanxi, Sichuan, Xinjiang, Xizang, Yunnan [Afghanistan, Kashmir, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Mongolia, Nepal, Pakistan, Russia, Sikkim, Tajikistan].