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Herbs annual or perennial, rarely subshrubs, covered with vesicular or terete hairs (in several species sometimes also with uniseriate, multicellular hairs), farinose (“mealy”) when dry, rarely glabrous. Leaves alternate, petiolate; leaf blade complanate, margin entire or irregularly serrate or lobed. Inflorescence usually of several flowers forming a glomerule (rarely solitary flowers), these arranged in axillary or terminal spikes, panicles, or dichasia; bracts and bractlets absent. Flowers bisexual or some female. Perianth green, globose, 5-parted, in some species (2 or)3-or 4-parted; segments abaxially slightly fleshy at center or longitudinally keeled, adaxially concave, remaining unchanged in fruit, rarely enlarged or becoming juicy, without appendages. Disk usually absent. Stamens 5 or fewer; filaments sometimes basally united, filiform or capillary; anthers oblong, without an appendage. Ovary globose, slightly depressed, rarely ovoid; ovule subsessile; style obscure or very short; stigmas 2(-5). Fruit a utricle; pericarp membranous or slightly fleshy, adnate to seed or free, indehiscent. Seed horizontal, in some species oblique and/or vertical, ovoid, lenticular, or depressed globose; testa lustrous, leathery, smooth or pitted; embryo annular, semi-annular, or horseshoe-shaped; perisperm copious, farinaceous.
Annual or perennial herbs, sometimes strongly smelling; young parts often more or less densely clothed with minute, powdery, white or pink vesicles which, when young, contain a watery liquid but usually soon shrivel and lose their colour. Leaves alternate, petioled, herbaceous, variable as to shape, entire, dentate-serrate or irregularly gashed. Flowers ☿ or by abortion ♀, sessile, clustered; clusters solitary in the leaf axils or in axillary and terminal cymes, spikes or panicles; no bracteoles. Tepals 5 or sometimes 4, free or shortly connate, vaulted, herbaceous, often longitudinally thickened or keeled on the back, in the Malaysian species not fleshy after anthesis. Stamens in ☿ the same number as tepals, inserted on the base of the perianth or free from it, at the base sometimes connate into a fleshy disk. Ovary depressed globose; style short; stigmas 2-5. Fruit often embraced by conniving tepals, thin-walled indehiscent. Seed usually horizontal, sometimes oblique or vertical, shining or dull, smooth or finely tuberculate, lenticular; its margin keeled or not; testa thinly coriaceous; embryo annular, surrounding the usually mealy endosperm.
Flowers perfect or rarely unisexual, sessile or subsessile, ebracteate. Sepals (3-) 5, hypogynous, free or basally united, herbaceous, subequal, often strongly 1-ribbed and cucullate. Stamens 5 or fewer, occasionally varying in number in different flowers of the same inflorescence, the flattened filaments free or basally connate, the anthers mostly suborbicular, introrse, dorso-medially attached. Ovary sub-globose, the stigmata 2 (-5), filiform or subulate, mostly sessile or subsessile. Fruit an indehiscent utricle, ovoid to subglobose, the pericarp membranaceous to carnose, free or adherent to the single seed; seeds mostly cochleate-lenticular, smooth to roughened, vertically or horizontally oriented. Annual or perennial often strong-scented herbs. Leaves alternate, entire to pinnatifid, the lowermost at least usually petiolate, frequently glandular or farinose. Inflorescences of terminal or axillary glomerules, the glomerules variously arranged.
Fls perfect (seldom some of them pistillate); cal persistent, mostly 2–5-parted (most commonly 5-, less often 3-), the short, usually blunt segments commonly incurved over the fr (cal only shallowly lobed in one sp.); stamens 1–5, typically isomerous with the cal-lobes; styles 2(–5); fr laterally compressed (the seed erect) or more often flattened across the top (the seed horizontal), thin-walled, the pericarp often adherent to the ± lenticular seed; embryo annular; ours herbs (most spp. annual) with entire or toothed to ± deeply lobed lvs and small, greenish to reddish fls, these in most spp. sessile in glomerules (the glomerules either axillary or in terminal spike-like or panicle-like infls), but in other spp. in compact cymes that may collectively form a thyrse, or otherwise disposed. (Blitum, Roubieva) 100+, cosmop.
Annual or perennial, non-succulent herbs, shrubs or small trees; gynomonoecious. Stems glabrous, pubescent or farinose, not jointed. Leaves alternate; at least lowermost usually petiolate; blade foliaceous, entire to pinnatifid, frequently glandular or farinose. Inflorescence of cymes or glomerulate clusters, aggregated into axillary or terminal spikes or panicles, or cymes single and axillary. Flowers bisexual or in part pistillate; ebracteate; tepals (3-)5, free or basally united; stamens (3)5, alternating and exceeding tepals, filaments flattened, free or basally united, white-hyaline, anthers ovoid, introrse; ovary horizontally flattened, styles and stigmas 2-3. Fruit indehiscent, thin wall adherent or not to seed; seed usually lenticular, shining, black, testa smooth or roughened, embryo annular, hippocrepiform.
Annual or perennial herbs, occasionally shrubby, glabrous, farinose, or with very short glandular hairs. Stems usually green, often whitish farinose when young, sometimes striped yellow, red or purple. Lvs mostly alternate, sometimes opposite near base, flat, extremely variable in shape, usually membranous. Fls usually in glomerules, sessile, ☿ or ♀; glomerules aggregated in dense spikes or panicles; bracteoles 0. Perianth segments 2-5, usually herbaceous, incurved, connate at base, scarcely accrescent, rarely becoming fleshy. Stamens (1)-2-5. Ovary superior; stigmas 2-(5). Fr. indehiscent with a membranous pericarp, often surrounded by persistent perianth. Seed generally horizontal, sometimes vertical; testa variously sculptured.
Mostly annual or perennial herbs, glabrous, pubescent, glandular or mealy with vesicular hairs. Leaves alternate, mostly petiolate, normally broad. Flowers mostly in cymose clusters (“glomerules”) variously arranged, ⚥ and ♀ mixed, without bracteoles. Calyx of both sorts of flower normally (3–) 4–5-lobed, unaltered or nearly so in fruit, or sometimes becoming fleshy. Stamens 1–5. Fruits with membranous indehiscent pericarp. Seeds “horizontal” (vertically compressed) or, less commonly, “vertical” (horizontally compressed); testa normally thin, hard and brittle. Embryo annular. Endosperm present. Weeds of cultivated areas and waste lands around human habitations.
Annual or perennial herbs, occasionally weak shrubs, mealy with minute sessile vesicular hairs which may collapse to form a scaly covering, or with glandular hairs, or glabrous. Leaves alternate, flat, entire or dissected. Flowers small, usually clustered, axillary or in panicules, bisexual or unisexual, the terminal often male or bisexual and the lateral female. Perianth 3–5-lobed, sometimes hardened in fruit. Stamens 1–5, free or united at base into a saucer-shaped disc. Stigmas 2 or 3. Pericarp membranous or rarely succulent. Seed lenticular to sub-globular, horizontal to vertical; testa crustaceous; embryo annular to horseshoe-shaped.
Fls perfect or ♀ in small axillary clusters, or the clusters in simple or compound spikes. Per. segs 2-5 ± united; stamens (0)-2-5. Styles 2-3, ± free. Fr. a membr. utricle ± invested by persistent per. Seed with crustaceous variously marked testa; embryo annular, endosperm cop. Annual to perennial herbs or shrubs with over 100 spp., mainly of temperate regions.
Seeds “horizontal” (vertically compressed) or, less commonly, “vertical” (horizontally compressed), testa normally thin, hard and brittle.
Leaves membranous to more or less fleshy, entire, toothed, or pinnately divided, alternate, mostly petiolate, normally broad.
Flowers mostly in cymose clusters (“glomerules”) variously arranged but often paniculate and mixed, without bracteoles.
Perianth of both sorts of flower normally (3) 4–5 lobed, unaltered or nearly so in fruit, or sometimes becoming fleshy.
Mostly annual or perennial herbs, glabrous, pubescent, glandular or mealy with vesicular hairs.
Fruit with a membranous indehiscent pericarp.
Endosperm present.
Embryo annular.
Stigmas 2 (5).
Stamens 1–5.
