The succulent, bright green leaf blades of 5–28 mm length and width are ovate to suborbiculate with entire margins.

1–1.5 mm long, united in the lower half, with cucullate tips, and 5 exserting stamens inserting on a disc.

Female flowers are sitting in groups of 2–6 within 2 opposite bracteoles, they consist of a hyaline perianth of 5 scale-like, lanceolate to ovate tepals of 1–1.5 mm, and an ovary with 2 filiform, slightly exserted stigmas.

The suborbicular to obovoid, laterally compressed fruit (utricle) is nearly equal in length to perianth and falls at maturity.

In 1990, it was raised to genus level by Howard Coombs Stutz & Ge Lin Chu (in: American Journal of Botany 77(3), p. 364).

[3] Phylogenetic research revealed it to be distinct from most Atriplex species, being more closely related to other endemic North American genera of Atripliceae.