a divaricately much-branched leafless bush, 2–3 ft. high, diœcious; main stems 3–4 lin. thick; branches opposite, diverging from each other at an angle of 90°–150°, rigid, 1–2 1/2 lin. thick, articulated at the base, straight or slightly curved, apparently more or less succulent when young, or with a succulent bark, tapering to a more or less acute but scarcely spine-like apex, glabrous; leaves rudimentary, opposite, scale-like, sessile, persisting for a short period, 1/2– 2/3 lin. long, broadly deltoid-ovate, acute, finally recurved, concave, rigid, glabrous, at first green, becoming dark brown or blackish; cy es very short, compact, 1/4– 1/3 in. in diam., opposite, one to four pairs to a branch or rarely solitary; bracts like the leaves; involucres sessile, 1–1 1/4 lin. in diam., cup-shaped, glabrous outside, with 5 glands and 5 oblong subentire or toothed and minutely ciliate lobes; glands 1/3– 2/3 lin. in their greater diam., transversely elliptic-oblong, entire; capsule 1 1/2 lin. in diam., obtusely 3-lobed, with a small disc-like calyx at its base, glabrous, minutely white-dotted, very shortly exserted from the involucre on a recurved pedicel, erect when immature; styles shortly united at the base, 1/3– 1/2 lin. long, spreading, with bifid revolute tips; seeds nearly 1 lin. long, conical, acute, truncate at the base, slightly 4-angled, tuberculate-rugose, grey. null
