Dense spreading shrub to 30 cm high; stems woody, whitish, slightly fissured with age, all parts usually glabrous, sometimes densely minutely papillose. Leaves opposite or alternate, often on different branches of the same plant, cylindrical to clavate, 5–10 x 1–2 mm, tip obtuse, glaucous; indurated base brown, up to 0.5 mm long. Flowering shoots up to 5 cm long, clusters at least 8-flowered, sometimes contiguous into a spike. Central flowers with perianth subglobose, 2–2.5 mm in diam. at anthesis; filaments slender, c. 1.5 mm long, anthers 0.6 mm long, bright yellow. Outer flowers small, at least sometimes lacking stamens and with smaller perianth. Immature fruiting perianth c. 2 mm long, prominently ribbed when dried, ± expanded at base, apical part closed by free perianth lobes, each with a prominent gibbosity. Fruits ovoid with acute beak, c. ?2 mm long, red, exserted from perianth in female flowers.
