Aerial stem-parasitic shrubs, glabrous. Stems much-branched, striate or longitudinally wrinkled. Leaves opposite, with normally developed ones and rudimentary cataphyll-like ones borne on each branch; normally developed leaves entire, unifacial, curvinerved, with 1-5 veins usually visible on both surfaces; rudimentary leaves forming a boat-shaped collar encircling the stem. Inflorescences terminal and axillary, a spike of decussate pairs of cymules (triads) or single flowers; central flowers usually female; lateral flowers female or male; bracts small, in pairs forming a boat-shaped cupule (like the rudimentary leaves) subtending each cymule; bracteoles of the lateral flowers (when present) small, free, entire to densely fimbriate. Male flowers globose or somewhat flattened, 0.5-1 mm long, 3-merous; tepals triangular, valvate; anthers disc-shaped, 2-loc-ulate, opening by slits, on a short filament. Female flowers cylindric or narrowly ellipsoid, at anthesis usually less than 2 mm long, usually 3-merous; tepals triangular; stigma small, nipple-shaped. Fruit narrow-ellipsoid to ellipsoid, smooth or tuberculate, crowned by the persistent tepals. Fig. 1. Fig. 2.
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