An erect annual herb up to 25 cm (rarely to 45 cm), completely greyish stellate-tomentose. Petioles normally up to 5 cm long, rarely of some basal. leaves up to 12 cm. Leaf-blades broadly ovate to rhombic-ovate, 2-7 x 1.5-4 cm, obtuse or subacute, rounded-cuneate to subtruncate, entire or shallowly repand-dentate, 5-nerved from the base, nerves slightly impressed above and slightly prominent beneath, more densely tomentose beneath than above when mature. Stipules filiform, 2 mm long. Inflorescences rarely more than 1 cm long, congested, supra-axillary. Male flowers subsessile; sepals linear-lanceolate, 3 mm long, stellate-pubescent; petals lanceolate, 3 mm long, lepidote without, yellow; wish; disc less than 1 mm diam.; stamens 5, filaments united to ½-way, anthers 1.5 mm long. Female flowers: pedicels 4-7 mm, extending to up to 4 cm in fruit; sepals and petals both linear, 2-2.5 mm long, stellate-pubescent ovary 2 mm diam., densely stellate-pubescent, with some fimbriate peltate scales also present; styles bipartite. Fruit rounded-trilobate, 5 x 7 mm, stellate-pubescent and fimbriate-lepidote. Seeds triangular-ovoid, 3-4 x 2-3 mm, ± smooth, greyish.

Fl. & Fr. Per.: March-October.

Holotype: USSR, Kazakhstan, Dzungaria [Songoria, Soongaria] ‘inter fontem Sassyk-Pastau et montes Arganaty’, 1841, Karelin & Kirloff 1941 (LE); isotype (K!).

Distribution: Oman, Iran, Afghanistan, Pakistan, Soviet Central Asia, W. China. In limestone gorges, on sandy hillocks, and in dry clay soil. 5530-6000'/1680-1830 m.