General:
Annual herb from a taproot; stems ascending, solitary, branched, with starlike hairs, 0.2-1.2 m tall.

Leaves:
Mainly upper leaves, alternate, lanceolate to elliptic or egg-shaped, entire, those of the flowering branches bractlike.

Flowers:
Inflorescence of unisexual flowers; staminate flowers in short panicled spikes terminating the branches; pistillate flowers few or single in the axils of the bracts.

Fruits:
Thin pericarps, 2-winged at the summit or wingless, the mature bracteoles and calyces becoming whitish and conspicuous; seeds silvery, flattened, egg-shaped, 2.0-2.5 mm long.

Source:  The Illustrated Flora of British Columbia

If more than one illustration is available for a species (e.g., separate illustrations were provided for two subspecies) then links to the separate images will be provided below. Note that individual subspecies or varietal illustrations are not always available.

Illustration Source:  The Illustrated Flora of British Columbia