Herbs annual, 15-40 cm tall. Stem erect, branched, rarely simple, gray-green, white striate, sometimes light red-brown below, glabrous. Leaves gray-green, semiterete, 1-3 cm × 1.5-2 mm, glabrous, base expanded with membranous margin, decurrent, apex mucronate. Flowers axillary, solitary, borne throughout plant; bracts narrowly lanceolate, sometimes slightly curved, longer than bractlets, apex pungent; bractlets ovate-lanceolate, longer than perianth, margin membranous at base, apex acute. Perianth (including wings) 8-10 mm in diam. in fruit; segments narrowly ovate, submembranous, abaxially winged from distal middle part, glabrous; portion of segment above wing tightly appressed to utricle, broadly lanceolate or triangular, abaxially green fleshy keeled, margin submembranous, apex obtuse; 3 wings reniform; other 2 wings purple-red or yellow-brown, obovate. Anthers oblong, 0.5-0.7 mm. Style very short; stigmas filiform, 2-3 × as long as style. Seed horizontal. Fl. Jul-Aug, fr. Sep-Oct.

Gobi desert, ravines, saline soils. N Xinjiang [W Mongolia, Russia (Altay); C Asia].