Plants annual to perennial; roots brown, fibrous, sometimes swollen and woody, not fleshy. Stems procumbent to erect, simple, to 80 cm. Leaves: petiole equaling blade; blade oblanceolate, 1-10 × 0.5-8 cm. Cymes 1-3-flowered. 2n = 18.

Flowering spring-early fall. Moist, sandy places near the coast and in waste areas; 0-200 m; introduced; Calif., N.J.; s Europe.