Description: Annual herbs.
Leaves alternate, 2 or 3 times pinnatisect into linear or filiform segments.
Flowers solitary at end of stem branches, actinomorphic, bisexual. Sepals 5, petaloid. Petals 5, opposite to and much smaller than sepals, 2-lipped, tapering to a claw at base. Stamens numerous. Carpels 2–14, ± united.
Fruit of 2–14 ± united follicles forming a capsule.
Distribution and occurrence: World: c. 20 species, Mediterranean to western Asia. Australia: 1 species (naturalized).
Text by B. G. Briggs & R. O. Makinson
Taxon concept:
| One species in NSW: Nigella damascena |
|
