Description: Herbs or shrubs, cystoliths present, branches thickened at nodes.
Leaves petiolate.
Inflorescences usually terminal leafy spikes, flowers sessile in upper axils; bracteoles leaf-like, longer than calyx. Calyx 5-lobed. Corolla tube wider above; lobes equal. Stamens 4, staminodes sometimes present. Ovary with 4–8 ovules per loculus.
Capsule ellipsoid; seeds 1–16, seed-bearing hooks well-developed; seeds discoid, only the thickened rim with mucilaginous hairs.
Distribution and occurrence: World: c. 80 species, Africa, India, Malesia, Australia, America. Australia: 2 species (1 species endemic), Qld, N.S.W., N.T., S.A., W.A.
Text by J. Everett
Taxon concept:
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