Shrubs or ephemeral herbs, prostrate or up to 1 m high, glabrous, pubescent or papillose. Branchlets terete or somewhat compressed. Leaves opposite, terete or flattened, lanceolate, ovate, spathulate or linear, sessile or gradually tapering to a broad petiole. Flowers solitary or in cymes, sessile or pedicellate. Perianth segments 4, ovate, equal in length or with an opposite longer pair, free to the base or fused for up to half their length, usually papillose inside, white, yellow or pink inside, green outside, apex cuspidate. Stamens 4 to many, evenly distributed around ovary or in 4 groups alternate with perianth segments. Styles 4, at first erect, later reflexed; ovary superior, 4-angled; locules 4; placentation axile. Fruit a hygroscopic capsule, dehiscing either septicidally, or septicidally and also partly loculicidally, depressed in centre; valves simple or bifid. Seeds many, comma-shaped, ovoid or club-shaped, laterally dilated or compressed, smooth, papillose, tuberculate or ridged, whitish to hyaline, light brown to black.
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