Erect to spreading, perennial herbs, shrubs or perennial twining (counterclockwise) vines, without cystoliths. Branches ± terete to quadrangular, occasionally longitudinally grooved. Leaves opposite, petiolate, blades often cordate to hastate at base, margins entire to lobed or dentate. Inflorescences of solitary or clustered flowers in leaf axils or in a terminal thyrse of alternate or opposite, 1-flowered, pedunculate dichasia; bracteoles (previously called “bracts” by this and other authors) green, spathaceous, enclosing most or all of corolla tube, usually persistent in fruit, free or fused along one side. Flowers homostylous, sessile; calyx persistent, reduced, annular, entire or ± irregularly 5-20-lobed; corollas white, yellow, orange, blue or purple, tube funnelform or salverform, expanded distally into a distinct throat, throat sometimes very wide and open, limb 5-lobed, subregular to 2-lipped with upper lip 2-lobed, lower lip 3-lobed, lobes subequal, contorted in bud, spreading or reflexed; stamens 4, often didynamous, inserted near base of throat, included; anthers 2-thecous, thecae equal to unequal in size, parallel to subparallel, equally to subequally inserted, often awned or appendaged basally, variously pubescent, staminodes 0; disk annular, enclosing ovary at base; ovary fleshy with 2 collateral ovules in each locule, stigma funnelform or 2-lobed, lobes equally inserted or superposed. Capsules estipitate, with expanded seed-bearing portion at base, apically prominently rostrate, retinacula lacking; seeds 4, 2 in each locule, semiglobose to ovoid, with a prominent pore or flattened (ventral) side, verrucose or smooth.
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Vines [or shrubs], lacking cystoliths. Leaves petiolate; leaf blade margin entire to lobed to dentate. Flowers solitary or paired in leaf axils, or in terminal dichasiate thyrses, pedunculate; bracteoles leaflike, paired, enclosing calyx and most or all of corolla tube, distinct or fused along one side, persistent. Calyx much shorter than bracteoles, cupular with 10-20 subulate lobes or reduced to an entire ring. Corolla funnel-shaped, large; tube with short cylindric base then widened; limb ± equally 5-lobed. Stamens 4, often didynamous, inserted near base of corolla tube, included; anthers 2-thecous; thecae oblong or ovoid, parallel, spurred or not at base, sometimes bearded. Disk shortly annular or pulvinate. Ovary fleshy; ovules 2 per locule, collateral; style glabrous or pubescent; stigma 2-cleft, entire, or fringed. Capsule basally subglobose, apically prominently beaked, 2-4-seeded; retinacula absent. Seeds compressed to spherical, lacking trichomes.
Herbaceous vines or shrubs. Leaves hastate, rhomboid or ovate. Flowers large, peduncled, borne singly in axils or in terminal racemes; bracts 2, foliaceous, large; calyx short, cupuliform, truncate or toothed; corolla 5-merous, funnelform; anthers 4, didynamous, attached near the base of the corolla tube, anthers with an apiculate connective; ovary fleshy, the style apically dilated; ovary basally subtended by a conspicuous fleshy nectary (rounded, entire disc). Capsule basally globose extending abruptly into a flattened beak; seeds 2 in each cavity, semiglobose, borne on papilliform funicles.
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