S. I. Ali & Sher Wali Khan

Dioecious herbs. Stem suberect, glabrous, slightly striate, densely branched. Cladodes in fascicles of 7-25, fliliform, 0.5-1.2 (-1.7) cm x c. 0.3 mm, scale leaf 5-7 mm, ovate-lanceolae, acerose, spine 2-3 mm, directed downwards on the main branches, shorter or indistinct on the branches. Flowers of both sexes 1-2 per node. Pedicel 0.5-1.0-1.5 cm, articulated, lower part longer than the upper. Male flower: perianth 5-7 mm, campanulate, filaments epiphyllous, c. 2.5-3.5 mm. Female flower: perianth c. 3 mm. Berry red, c. 6 mm in diameter. Seeds 1-3.

Fl. Per.: May

Type: Altai australis (LE).

Distribution: Russia (E. Siberia), Mongolia, China (N. Xinjiang), Kazakstan, Usbekistan, Turkmenistan, Tajikistan, Afghanistan and Pakistan.