General: Annual herb from a taproot; stems usually prostrate or low and spreading, numerous, branched from the base, 10-40 cm long.
Leaves: Stem leaves alternate, pale green on upper surfaces, greyish-mealy below, gradually reduced upwards, oblong egg-shaped or deltoid, 1-3 cm long, coarsely toothed, narrowing to stout stalks, fleshy.
Flowers: Inflorescence of dense clusters in numerous, short, axillary spikes and a terminal, simple or compound spike, greenish.
Fruits: Thin, membranous envelopes flattened at the top, 0.8 mm wide; seeds mostly horizontal, some vertical.
If more than one illustration is
available for a species (e.g., separate illustrations were provided for two
subspecies) then links to the separate images will be provided below.
Note that individual subspecies or varietal illustrations are not always available.
Mesic to dry roadsides, waste places and saline or alkaline flats in the steppe and montane zones; frequent in SC and SE BC, rare in SW BC (Vancouver); introduced from Eurasia.
