Plant: Perennial < 7 dm, monoecious; sap clear or milky; Stems erect Leaves: alternate, simple, blade 1-4 cm, < 2 mm wide, linear, margin entire; stipules minute, petioled; blade base generally with 2 glands INFLORESCENCE: spike, axillary or terminal, 2-7 cm; bracts glandular; glands of pistillate bracts stalked, ± 1 mm Flowers: Staminate flower: calyx 2-lobed; petals 0, stamens 2; nectary disk 0; Pistillate flowers 3-6 per inflorescence, well separated; ovary 3-chambered, styles ± 1 mm, free, fused below, lobes 0 Fruit: capsule, ± 3.5 mm, generally 3-lobed, separating into 3 1-seeded segments; central axis persistent; Seed ± 2 mm, smooth; pointed; scar not appendaged Misc: Dry slopes, washes; < 1500 m.