Slender taproots; stems erect, usually solitary and simple at the base, branching distally; herbage hairy with soft hairs to hairless; plants with pungent, watery sap; flowers white, very small on long narrow stems at branch tips.
Diffusely branched annual; leaves lance-like, narrowest at base, upper leaves attached directly to stems; flower stems erect, not flattened, hairs soft if present; flowers small, white, petals shorter than sepals; stamens 2; small round flat seed pods.
Habitat
Waste places, disturbed sites, prairies, fields, pastures, grasslands, chaparral, meadows, sagebrush flats, floodplains, gravelly hillsides, rock crevices, seashores, sandy places, open mesas, and roadsides.
Flower Characteristics
Very small and inconspicuous in elongated clusters at branch tips; 4 oblong sepals, 1/16 to 1/4 inch long; 4 simple petals, forming a cross, less than 1/16 inch long; petals sometimes absent.
Leaf and Stem Characteristics
Basal leaves 1-1/2 to 2-3/4 inches long, sparse short hairs, wither early; alternate stem leaves, shorter than basal leaves, less than 1/16 wide, linear or narrowly reverse lance-shaped; tips sharply pointed; all leaves more or less toothed or divided.
Fruit and Seed Characteristics
Flattened, egg-shaped to circular, about 1/16 to 1/8 inch long and 1/16 to 1/8 inch wide, with a shallow notch style (upward extension of the ovary) that remains attached at the tip.
Oval 1/16 inch long.