General:
Annual herb from a taproot; stems simple or branched, with straight, appressed and spreading, stiff hairs, 10-40 cm tall.

Leaves:
Basal leaves smaller, withering; stem leaves linear to narrowly oblong, 0.3-3 cm long, uniformly hairy with somewhat appressed to spreading hairs, entire, alternate.

Flowers:
Inflorescence of naked, coiled "spikes", tending to be paired, typically raised somewhat above the leafier part of the plant; petals white, fused at base into a tube that spreads (about 1 mm wide) at the top to 5 tiny lobes, with 5 bulges at the throat; fruiting calyces 4-8 mm long, stiffly appressed-hairy and spreading-bristly.

Fruits:
Nutlets 4, clustered together, 1.5-2.3 mm long, egg-shaped, usually smooth and shining, with medial groove forked and closed at base.

Source:  The Illustrated Flora of British Columbia