Herbs annual, weak, glabrous, monoecious or dioecious. Stems blue-green when dry, erect, branched at base, 5-20 cm tall, succulent. Stipules almost persistent, triangular, ca. 1 mm, membranous; petiole subequal in length, 0.5-2 cm; leaf blade abaxially pale green, adaxially green, rhombic-elliptic, rhombic-lanceolate, or ovate, unequal in size, 1.5-6 × 0.7-2.8 cm, submembranous, 3-veined, lateral veins 3-5 each side, slightly elevated and finely honeycombed abaxially, depressed adaxially, cystoliths fusiform, often conspicuous adaxially, base broadly cuneate or subrounded, margin entire, apex acuminate, shortly caudate-acuminate, or acute, acumen obtuse. Inflorescences in pairs; male inflorescence a moniliform spike, 1.5-2.5 cm overall, peduncle slender, 1-1.6 cm; female inflorescence a racemelike cyme, shorter than petioles. Male flowers purplish, pedicellate, in bud obovoid, ca. 1.5 mm; perianth lobes 4, connate 1/2 of length, subapically corniculate with a small gibbose appendix at each side; stamens 4; rudimentary ovary conspicuous. Female perianth lobes unequal, longest one subapically corniculate. Achene brownish, broadly ovoid, ca. 0.4 mm, slightly compressed, oblique, spinulose-verrucose, enclosed by persistent perianth. Fl. Jul-Sep, fr. Sep-Oct.

Shaded moist places, rocks; 1500-1900 m. SW Sichuan, C and N Yunnan [N Thailand].