Monoecious annuals with nearly glabrous foliage. Stems erect or ascending, 10–100 cm, branched from the base. Leaf blades 2–10 cm long, triangular with basal lobes and entire to toothed margins. Inflorescence terminal, short spikes of glomerules. Male flowers 4- to 5-parted. Female flowers lacking a calyx; pistillate bracts distinct. Mature pistillate bracts glabrous, triangular, 3–5 mm long. Barren, moist, saline soil along streams, wetlands; plains. Introduced across much of temperate N. America (
Lesica et al. 2012. Manual of Montana Vascular Plants. BRIT Press. Fort Worth, TX).