Tender annual herb with erect flowering stems to c. 50 cm high. Rosette leaves with lamina ± rhombic to angular-elliptic, c. 1–4 cm long and wide, soon withering, petioles narrow, to c. 25 cm long; involucre of connate stem-leaves ± circular, bowl-like, 1.5–8 cm diam. Inflorescence usually 2–10 cm long, 7–many-flowered, simple or few-branched, with 1–few leaf-like bracts toward the base. Sepals ovate, c. 2 mm long at anthesis, enlarging to 3–4 mm in fruit, shortly united at base, rounded at apex; petals 2–5 mm long, white or pink; style cleft to about midway. Capsule subequal to sepals, splitting to below midway; seeds 3 per capsule, elliptic, 1.5–2 mm long, blackish, shining, almost smooth, with a whitish aril c. 0.3 mm long. Flowers Aug.–Nov.
Wim, VVP, VRiv, Gold, CVU, DunT. An occasional weed of moist, often rocky areas in bushland (e.g. Castlemaine, Harcourt) and sometimes heavily infesting damp farmland areas (e.g. St Arnaud, Casterton, Beaufort, Woodend, Alexandra districts).
