Flowers 4-merous. Hypanthium broadly campanulate, rarely subglobose, setose at least at the summit. Sepals erect or spreading, separate to the base, ovate to linear-lanceolate, acute or acuminate, often involute distally, few-nerved. Petals rotund to obovate or broadly cuneate, commonly glandular-ciliate, somewhat in-equilateral, flabellately veined. Stamens 8, dimorphic. Filaments slender, flat, glabrous, longer in the outer series. Anthers linear or linear-subulate, straight or nearly so, 2-celled, opening by a minute terminal pore; connective in the epi-sepalous stamens prolonged conspicuously below the thecae to the insertion of the filament, there continued in the same direction into two slender, parallel, anterior spurs; connective of the epipetalous stamens very briefly prolonged below the thecae, slightly swollen and sometimes minutely tuberculate on the anterior side. Ovary free or adnate to the middle, 4-celled, its summit rounded or usually bearing 4 fleshy scales. Style slightly sigmoid, elongate, slender; stigma punctiform. Capsule about equaling the hypanthium, 4-valved. Seeds minute, obovoid, cochle-ate. Shrubs or half-shrubs, erect or rarely trailing, with 4-angled stems; leaves (in our species) multipli-nerved or apparently pinnately veined, the usual secondary veins lacking; inflorescence a terminal panicle or flowers rarely solitary; petals purple, rose-purple, or pink, 5-12 mm. long.
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