Small shrubs, occasionally lianes. Leaves opposite. Stipules membranous. Inflorescence a short terminal or axillary cyme. Corolla (in ours) white, lilac or pink, usually yellow at the base, 5-lobed. Fruit a 2-lobed flattened capsule. Seeds pale brown, appressed-hairy. Derivation of name: named for Jens Laurentius Moestue Vahl (27 November 1796 – 12 November 1854) who was a Danish botanist and pharmacist. Worldwide: 8 species, 1 in South America, the rest in tropical Africa. Zimbabwe: 1 taxon. |
|