Description

"Plants ± strongly perennial, pos-sibly blooming first year, not matted. Taproots filiform to moderately thickened; rhizomes often present, slender, 2-15+ cm. Stems 1-80+, erect or ascending to procumbent or prostrate to trailing, green, 5-60 cm; internodes terete to angular, 1/ 3-8+ times as long as leaves, dull, retrorsely pubescent throughout or in lines, hairs minute. Leaves usually connate basally, with scarious sheath 0.1-0.5 mm, occasionally petiolate (proximal leaves) or sessile; petiole 2-5 mm; blade 1-veined, vein prominent abaxially, linear-lanceolate to narrowly elliptic or oblanceolate, 3-35 × 2-14 mm, herbaceous, margins thickened, scarious, shiny, ciliate proximally or throughout, apex obtuse or acute to apiculate, often minutely pustulate, ciliate on margins and adaxial midrib; axillary leaf clusters absent. Inflorescences axillary, solitary flowers or in proliferating, mostly terminal, leafy, 1-80+-flowered cymes. Pedicels erect to ascending (often arcuately so), or straight to widely divergent, often hooked distally in fruit, 2-40 mm, retrorsely pubescent. Flowers: sepals green, 1-3-veined, 2 lateral veins 4-3/ 4 times as long as midvein, often appearing prominently keeled proximally, lanceolate to ovate (herbaceous portion oblong or lanceolate to ovate), 2-5 mm, to 5.5 mm in fruit, apex acute to acuminate, not pustulate, glabrous; petals narrowly spatulate to obovate, 1.5-6 mm, 2-1 5 times as long as sepals or absent, apex obtuse to rounded, petals sometimes absent. Capsules ± loosely to tightly enclosed by calyx, ovoid, 3-6 mm, 5-1 2 times as long as sepals. Seeds 8-35, black, suborbicular, slightly compressed, 0.7-0.8 mm, shiny, smooth. 2n = 40, 44." c

Ethnobotanical Uses

Medicine:

"Navajo, Ramah Analgesic Cold infusion used as lotion on forehead for headache. Dermatological Aid Infusion of plant used as lotion for pimples. Eye Medicine Infusion of plant used as eye drops. Febrifuge Cold infusion used as lotion on forehead for fever. Respiratory Aid Infusion of powdered root put in nose to cause sneezing for 'congested nose.' Venereal Aid Strong infusion of plant taken before sweat bath for venereal disease. (Moerman 89)

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