Annual or perennial herb, erect, sometimes subscandent, up to 1 m tall, or prostrate, finely pubescent on all parts, often with glands or glandular hairs. Leaves: petiole pubescent, up to 2.5 cm long; blade ovate, 0.3–3 x 0.2–2 cm, with scattered fine hairs above and longer soft hairs on the nerves below, base cuneate, truncate or subcordate, margin entire, apex rounded, mucronate, acute or acuminate. Inflorescences sometimes loosely paniculate but mostly contracted in axillary clusters, profusely provided with lanceolate bracts. Male and bisexual flowers mixed together, subsessile, 4-merous, up to 1.5 mm in diam. Female flowers with 4 tepals which are fused for c. half their length, 1–1.5 mm long, provided with ± hooked hairs. Achene pale brownish, smooth, compressed, c. 1 mm long.