Annual or perennial herbs.
Stipules fimbriate. Leaves opposite. Flowers in cymose heads, bisexual,
mono- or di-morphic, developing in fruit into a long simple spike.
Calyx: tube ovoid or elongate-oblong; lobes unequal,
5, 1-3 foliaceous and large. Corolla: tube long and narrow;
lobes (in ours) ovate to circular, narrowing near base. Capsule
oblong, flattened, ribbed. Seeds, small, reticulate. Worldwide: 8 species in tropical Africa and Madagascar Zimbabwe: 1 taxon. |
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