Herbs, subshrubs, shrubs, [or trees], annual, biennial, or perennial, evergreen (leaves withering in age), scabrid, trichomes (1) unbranched and smooth, knobby, notched, or antrorsely or retrorsely barbed, (2) dendritic, and/or (3) stinging. Leaves alternate [opposite], simple; stipules absent; petiole present or absent; blade sometimes lobed, margins entire, serrate, dentate, or crenate; venation pinnate, basal secondary veins commonly present. Inflorescences terminal, cymes, thyrses, racemes, panicles, or flowers solitary. Flowers bisexual, usually radially symmetric, rarely bilaterally symmetric (by bilateral symmetry of corolla, androecium, or gynoecium); perianth and androecium epigynous; hypanthium adnate to ovary proximally and free distally, or completely adnate to ovary; sepals 5, radially symmetric, distinct or connate basally; petals 5, radially or bilaterally symmetric, distinct or connate, sometimes postgenitally coherent; nectary absent or present, distal on ovary; stamens 5–150+, distinct, free or adnate to petal bases, bilaterally or radially symmetric; anthers dehiscing by longitudinal slits; staminodes absent or present, sometimes petaloid and petals appearing to be 6+; pistil 1, 3–7-carpellate, ovary inferior, 1-locular, placentation parietal, subapical, or apical; ovules 1–60+ per locule, anatropous (epitropous); style 1; stigma 1, 2–5(–7)-lobed (lobes usually as many as carpels, except in pseudomonomerous Gronovioideae). Fruits capsules, dehiscence by apical valves [splitting longitudinally], or cypselae, sepals or sepals and petals persisting. Seeds 1–60+ per fruit.
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