A procumbent annual herb. Stem diffuse, puberulous. Leaves spathulate to obovate, 3-7 mm long, 1-3 mm broad, retuse, pubescent beneath; subsessile, petiole base sheathing, ciliate. Flowers sessile, axillary solitary or in dichasial cymes. Calyx tube c. 4 mm long, costate, 5-fid, puberulous; lobes acute c. 1 mm long; petals 5, pink, c. 4 mm long, obovate, apex slightly fimbriate, base with a membranous decurrent scale attached to the inside. Stamens 6, free; filament c. 2.5 mm long, dilated posteriorly. Ovary c. 2 mm long, ovoid; style 1.5 mm long, linear; stigma 2-3 forked. Capsule c. 2 mm long, splitting by 3 valves; seeds less than 1 mm long, c. 0.5 mm broad, ovoid.

Type: Described from Europe. Hb. Linn. 457/6 (LINN).

Fl-Per. March-May.

Distribution:. S. and SE. Europe, Africa, Siberia, Turkey, Iran, Syria, Arabia, Egypt and W. Pakistan.

A desert annual with pretty deep pink sessile flowers; often found in the Punjab plains; in sandy or saline soil up to 1700 m.