Salomonia Lour.

Small erect annual herbs with aromatic roots. Stems without nodal glands, angular with 3 transparent wings. Leaves alternate, shortly petioled or sessile, glabrous or ciliate, 1-5-nerved. Inflorescence spike-like, terminal, the axes without nodal glands, winged; bracts early caducous or sometimes persistent, bracteoles absent. Sepals 5, unequal, much smaller than the petals, connate at very base, persistent, 1-nerved. Petals 3, unequal, asymmetric, halfway adnate to the staminal tube, the upper ones halfway connate to the lower one (keel) and slightly shorter than this; lower petal broad at base, narrowed in the middle, obliquely cup-shaped in apical part and completely enclosing stamens and stigma, apically inappendiculate. Stamens 4 or 6, rarely 5, monadelphous; anthers bisporangiate by abortion of the outer microsporangiae, sessile, opening by an introrse slit common to both cells. Disk absent. Ovary 2-celled, compressed contrary to the sept, each locule 1-ovuled; style strongly curved upwards at base and gradually recurved towards the slightly upturned apex; stigma 2-lobed, completely enclosed by the anthers in flower. Capsule transversally elliptic, laterally compressed, pergamentaceous, far exceeding the sepals, at the margin of each cell with a double row of 6-10 short or long teeth or spines. Seed elliptic, laterally flattened, glabrous, inappendiculate; albumen nearly absent in the ripe seed; embryo translucent, delicate, containing oil (even in dry state).

Sunny, open, usually wet places on sand, clay or rock, sometimes in deciduous or light forests, 0-1500 m.