Plants annual, infrequently perennial. Stems decumbent to ascending, much branched, elongate, reddish at least basally, glandular-pubescent, rarely glabrous or viscid-pubescent. Leaves: petiole 1-4.5 cm; blade broadly ovate to orbiculate, 1-5 × 0.5-3 cm, margins entire or ± repand and undulate, surfaces glabrous or sparsely glandular-pubescent. Inflorescences: peduncle longer than subtending petiole; bracts lanceolate to ovate, 3-10 × 1-5 mm, papery, puberulent to densely glandular-pubescent; flowers 15-35. Perianth: tube greenish to coral pink, 6-18 mm, limb white to pale pink, 5-8 mm diam. Fruits winged, turbinate, 3-8 × 3-6 mm, coriaceous, apex broadly tapered to prominent beak; wings (2-)5 (when 2, folded together) truncate distally with conspicuous dilations, cavities extending throughout.

Flowering spring-fall. Sandy soils, desert scrub; 900-2500 m; Calif., Nev., Oreg.