stem suffruticose, (erect or decumbent), branching; leaves opposite, fleshy, tereti-subulate, acute, patent, glabrous, not much exceeding the internodes; cymes terminal, pedunculate, corymboso-paniculate, with toothlike bracts; calyx-lobes short, oblong, blunt, thick, keeled; petals connate at base, oblong-obovate, thin, spreading; styles shortly subulate; squamæ minute. The erect form resembles C. tetragona, but is smaller, with shorter leaves; our var. β., very like DeCandolle's figure, is subherbaceous and diffuse, with larger leaves. Leaves 1/2–1 inch, in β. 1 1/4 inch long, thick and fleshy. Peduncles 2–6 inches long. Flowers minute, white, densely crowded, in β. more lax.
