Valerianella Mill.

Annual (or biennial) herbs with dichasial branching, appearing dichotomous, but the terminal bud abortive in the lower branches, glabrous or pubescent. Radical leaves sometimes forming a rosette, entire, petiolate to nearly sessile, undivided or dentate; cauline leaves often toothed, sometimes entire, connate, rarely incised-pinnatifid. Inflorescence a terminal, usually dichasial cyme subtended by lanceolate to oblong connate bracts. Flowers sessile, solitary, hermaphrodite (or unisexual), in the axils of lanceolate to oblong connate bracteoles. Calyx-limb often short or obsolete during flowering state, becoming hardened or variously enlarged in fruit, erect, spreading or globose-inflated, regular or oblique, entire or 3–6-toothed, 3-horned or divided into recurved or hooked rigid awns, never plumose-setose. Corolla funnel-shaped, narrowly campanulate or tubular, attenuated at the base, regular or sometimes gibbous, never spurred; limb 5-fid, spreading. Stamens 3, inserted towards the top of the corolla-tube, exserted; anthers 4-lobed. Style shortly or minutely 3-fid at the apex; stigma simple or shortly 3-lobed. Fruit an achene, oblanceolate to spathulate, glabrous to pubescent, 1-seeded, 3-locular, the 2 abaxial locules empty and ordinarily with a distinct groove between them.