Small, perennial, hard, glabrous or papillose subshrubs, with long hairy leaf axils. Stem branched, woody, silvery or white. Leaves alternate, short, succulent often ending in a mucro or apical deciduous bristle, sessile. Flowers hermaphrodite or male, engulfed by woolly and long hairs, subtended by leaves, outer flowers with 2 bracts. Perianth 5, free, membranous, outer 3-4 developing wings in fruit. Stamens 5 with short terminal appendages. Ovary ovoid with 2 styles. Utricle included in perianth. Seeds vertical; embryo spiral.