Plants 10-40 cm tall, densely pubescent and sparsely villous. Stem erect, much branched; branches ascending or oblique, slender. Leaves ovate to narrowly so, with reddish purple veins, villous, base broadly cuneate, apex acute. Inflorescence rachis densely villous. Perianth segments narrowly elliptic, densely villous or appressed pubescent. Stigmas hairy. Utricle obovate. Seed compressed ovoid. Fl. and fr. Jul-Aug.

Gobi desert, alkaline places, waste places. N Xinjiang [C Asia].