Herbs annual, 20-100 cm tall, not farinose (but young leaves and inflorescence rachis sometimes slightly tomentose). Stem erect, branched or unbranched, striate, ± stout, ribbed. Petiole 2-4 cm; leaf blade concolorous, triangular or rhombic-ovate, 3-8 cm (lower ones sometimes to 15 cm), narrower than or as wide as long, slightly succulent, base subtruncate or broadly cuneate, margin irregularly serrate, apex acute or acuminate. Glomerules few or many flowered, forming axillary or terminal, erect, spikelike panicles. Flowers bisexual and female. Perianth segments 3-5. Filaments slightly shorter than perianth; anthers oblong. Utricle lenticular; pericarp brown. Seed horizontal, oblique, or vertical, red-brown to black, sublustrous, 0.5-1 mm in diam., obscurely or obviously pitted, rim margin obtuse or acute. Fl. and fr. Jul-Oct.

Gobi desert, wastelands, saline-alkaline places, field margins. Hebei, Heilongjiang, N Jiangsu, Jilin, Liaoning, Nei Mongol, N Shaanxi, Shandong, Shanxi, N Xinjiang [N Africa, C and SW Asia, Europe; introduced in North America and some other regions].