Habit: Annual [perennial herb], generally glabrous; sap clear; (monoecious) dioecious.
Stem: central erect, branched; lateral < central, spreading to ascending.
Leaf: cauline, opposite; stipules persistent; hairs simple.
Staminate Inflorescence: spike-like, axillary; flowers clustered.
Pistillate Inflorescence: flowers clustered, axillary.
Staminate Flower: calyx 3-lobed; stamens 8--15(20), free; nectary 0.
Pistillate Flower: sepals 3; staminodes 2, elongated; ovary 2-chambered, bristly, styles free, simple.
Fruit: bristly.
Seed: generally pitted; scar appendaged.
Species In Genus: 8 species: Eurasia, northern Africa.
Etymology: (Geronimo Mercuriali, Italian physician, 1530--1606)
Jepson eFlora Author: Mark H. Mayfield & Grady L. Webster
Index of California Plant Names (ICPN; linked via the Jepson Online Interchange)
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