E-Flora BC: Electronic Atlas of the Flora of British Columbia

General:
Perennial parasitic shrub; stems bluish or bluish-green, smooth, 0.5-3 cm long; segments about 1 mm thick or less; accessory branches, if any, usually in 1 plane, the branches at each node fanlike.

Flowers:
Male flowers about 2 mm wide, greenish to yellow, terminal on short, stalk-like joints, usually 2 per node, the buds egg-shaped, the perianth lobes rounded on the backs; female flowers 2 per node, short-stalked.

Fruits:
Berries, egg-shaped, about 3 mm long, greenish to bluish, usually 1-seeded, mucilaginous, maturing the 2nd summer.