Herbs, annual, cespitose, 0.1--0.6 dm. Culms to 150, 0.1--0.2 mm diam. Leaves to 2.5 cm  x 0.1--0.3 mm. Inflorescences headlike clusters, each with 1--4(--7) flowers; bracts subtending inflorescence 2--4(--8), ovate, inconspicuous, 0.6--1.5 mm, membranous, apex acute. Flowers 3-merous; : tepals 4(--6), green or darker, acute to acuminate, 1.9--2.9 x 0.4--0.6 mm, nearly equal; stamens 2(--3), filaments 0.5--0.8 mm, anthers 0.3--0.4 mm; style 0.2--0.3 mm, stigma 0.2--0.7 mm. Capsules pink-tinged, 2- or 3-locular, ellipsoid to narrowly oblate, 1.9--2.9 x 1.1--1.5 mm, nearly equal or slightly longer than tepals. Seeds oblate to ovoid, 0.35--0.55 mm. n = 17.

Flowering and fruiting mid spring--early fall. Bare, moist granitic sand along streams, seepage areas around outcrops, and depressions in meadows; 300--3100 m; Calif., Idaho, Nev., Wash.; Mexico.