Description: Woody vines or climbing shrubs, mostly glabrous.
Leaves opposite and decussate; stipules present.
Inflorescence axillary, mostly cymose. Calyx mostly 5-lobed. Petals mostly 5, imbricate. Disc thick, fleshy. Stamens mostly 3, inserted at base of free part of ovary. Ovary partly or not immersed in disc, 3-locular with 2–20 ovules per loculus.
Fruit a capsule, strongly 3-lobed, each lobe flattened and opening down the middle into 2 valves; seeds compressed and usually winged.
Distribution and occurrence: World: c. 100 species, tropical & subtropical regions. Australia: 1 species (endemic).
Text by T. A. James
Taxon concept:
| One species in NSW: Hippocratea barbata |
|
