Herbs annual. Stems erect, 50-80 cm tall, glabrous, angulate, much branched; branches ascending, fastigiate, nodes inflated, internodes 3-5 cm. Leaves caducous; petiole short, articulate at base; leaf blade usually caducous, lanceolate or linear-lanceolate, 1.5-4 cm × 6-8 mm, both surfaces with conspicuous veins, base narrowly cuneate, apex acute; ocrea lower part brown, upper part white, tubular, membranous, 6-8-veined, lacerate at apex. Inflorescence terminal, spicate, interrupted. Pedicel slender, articulate at apex. Perianth green, margin pinkish or white, 5-parted; tepals elliptic, ca. 2 mm. Stamens 7 or 8; filaments dilated at base. Styles 3; stigmas capitate. Achenes included in persistent perianth, brown, shiny, ovoid, trigonous, 2-2.5 mm, smooth. Fl. Jun-Jul, fr. Jul-Aug.

Marshy areas, streamsides; 200-2500 m. Gansu, Nei Mongol, Qinghai, Xinjiang [Afghanistan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Mongolia, Russia, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan; SW Asia].