A stout annual; stem erect, up to 1.5 m high, glabrous or nearly so; leaves linear-lanceolate, 5-20 cm long, acuminate at apex rounded or subcordate at base, glabrous except the ciliolate margins and midrib beneath; stipules strigose, mouth with cilia longer than the tube; inflorescence paniculate racemes or sometimes spikes; peduncles glabrous or hairy; bracts closed, ciliate on margin, perianth eglandular, petaloid, white or pale yellow, 5-lobed, elliptic; stamens 6, perigynous, filaments filiform, dilated at base; anthers 2 celled, distinct, jointed by a small connective; ovary 3-angled, ovule solitary-style 3 rarely 2; stigmas capitate; fruit a nutlet or nut, biconvex or rarely 3 angled, 2 mm across, enclosed within persistent perianth; seed albuminous.