Plants perennial, finely pubescent, from stout taproots. Stems prostrate to erect, often clambering through other vegetation, slender to ± stout, herbaceous or woody, unarmed, without glutinous bands on internodes. Leaves sessile to petiolate, subequal to greatly unequal in each pair, ± thick and succulent, base asymmetric or ± symmetric. Inflorescences terminal or axillary, solitary flowers or few-flowered cymes and nearly sessile, or short pedicellate in 3-25-flowered umbellate clusters in axils or forks of branches; bracts persistent, not accrescent, 1-3 beneath each flower, distinct, narrowly lanceolate, small or minute, herbaceous. Flowers bisexual, chasmogamous and/or cleistogamous; cleistogamous perianth narrow domelike tube atop basal portion; chasmogamous perianth radially symmetric, short to elongate funnelform, constricted beyond ovary, abruptly expanded to 5-lobed limb; stamens 2(-3) or 5-6 (2-5 in cleistogamous flowers), exserted; styles exserted beyond anthers; stigmas peltate. Fruits oblong or narrowly ellipsoid, coriaceous, smooth, glabrous or minutely puberulent; ribs 5, rounded, often with large, dark, sticky gland near apex, or wings 3-5, coriaceous, hyaline, often between ribs or wings a rib or low sharp ridge.
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