Herbs, perennial, 30-70 cm tall, erect to spreading, much branched from base, glabrous. Roots to 2 cm in diam. Leaves alternate; leaf blade ovate, divided into 3-5 linear to lanceolate-linear lobes; lobes 1-3.5 × 1.5-3 mm. Flowers opposite to leaves on apical parts of branches. Sepals 5, divided into linear lobes, 1.5-2 cm, sometimes only divided at apex. Petals 5, yellowish white, obovate-oblong, 15-20 × 6-9 mm. Stamens 15; filament base enlarged. Ovary 3-locular. Capsule globular. Seeds dark brown, slightly curved, 3-angulate, surface muriculate. Fl. May-Jun, fr. Jul-Nov. 2n = 22, 24.

This species is a noxious weed that has escaped often in desert areas around the world.

Slightly saline sands near oases, dry grasslands in desert areas; 400-3600 m. Gansu, W Hebei, W Nei Mongol, Ningxia, Qinghai, N Shanxi, Xinjiang, Xizang [Afghanistan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Mongolia, Pakistan, Russia, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan; N Africa, W Asia, S Europe].