Home
Shrubs or woody herbs, erect or prostrate. Leaves entire, 5–7-nerved, petiolate. Inflorescence terminal, 1–3– or many-flowered; flowers 5-merous, sessile, usually enclosed by several large persistent bracts. Calyx-tube tubular or campanulate, usually with 1 or more rings of bristles, rarely glabrous; lobes persistent, reflexed; intersepalar appendages absent. Stamens equal or subequal; anthers narrowly oblong to linear-subulate; connective not or only shortly produced below the anther, with 2 small anterior appendages. Ovary mostly adherent to the calyx-tube, 5-locular, apex usually setose. Fruit indehiscent. Seeds cochleate.
Flowers 5-merous, sessile or subsessile, in terminal heads surrounded by leaves and leafy bracts; inner bracts coriaceous, chaffy or membranous.
Stamens 10, subequal; anthers lanceolate, all similar, yellow; pedoconnective short with an anterior 2-lobed or 2-fid appendage at the base.
Receptacle ovoid or ovoid-oblong, glabrous or densely setose on the upper half or with 1–6 rings of bristles.
Annual or perennial herbs or shrubs, with sharply 4-angular or-winged stems and branches.
Sepals persistent, ± reflexed, ciliate at the margin; intersepalar segments 0.
Ovary 5-locular, adnate to the receptacle all around to above the middle.
Capsule 5-valved, with fleshy placentas, usually splitting irregularly.
Petals mauve, pink or blue-violet, rarely white.
Leaves petiolate, opposite.
Seeds numerous, cochleate.
