Annual up to 100 cm, erect, rigid, whitish, with elongated divaricate branches or whip-like stems, sparsely branched. Leaves up to 30-40 (-70) x 2-5 (-10) mm, the lower and middle ones oblong-deltoid, cuneate, tapering to a petiole, mucronate, irregularly dentate to sub-entire; upper leaves sessile, lanceolate to lanceolate-linear, entire, mealy-canescent. Flowers in clusters and solitary, the formers staminate and pistillate forming long interrupted spike-like or panicled, leafless inflorescences; the solitary ones pistillate, and scattered in the axils of middle and upper leaves. Staminate flowers with membranous yellowish perianth. Valves of axillary, pistillate flowers 3-7 x 2.5-5 mm; rhombic-deltoid to oblong-deltoid, upper half free with one or more lateral teeth, the lower part mostly furnished with tubercles; those of the terminal pistillate flowers considerably smaller; stigmas free. Seed 1 mm in diameter, dark-brown.