Halimocnemis squarrosa Schrenk, Bull. Cl. Phys.-Math. Acad. Imp. Sci. Saint-Pétersbourg 1: 360. 1843.

Plants grayish, 5-15 cm tall, densely pubescent with long, semiappressed hairs. Stem simple or branched from base, erect or slightly decumbent, slender, terete; branches opposite, except apical ones (in inflorescence) alternate, obliquely spreading. Leaves opposite, except alternate on apical branches, linear, slightly recurved, semiterete, 0.5-1 cm × ca. 1 mm, base slightly expanded, apex acuminate. Bractlets slightly longer than perianth, apex acute. Perianth segments 3, ovate-elliptic, ca. 2.5 mm, membranous, abaxially hairy near margin and apex. Stamens 3(or 4); anthers free in proximal 1/5, 1.5-1.75 mm; appendage very short, slightly 2-lobed. Stigmas subequaling style.

Gobi desert, terraces, ravine banks. N Xinjiang [Kazakhstan; C and SW Asia].