Monoecious herbs or shrubs Indumentum stellate. Leaves alternate, simple, entire. Inflorescences terminal, usually bisexual; male flowers aggregated into a dense terminal spherical head with 1-7 female flowers at the base. Male flowers: calyx closed in bud, splitting into 3-4 valvate lobes; petals 0; disk 0; stamens 6-8; pistillode entire or 2-3-fid. Female flowers: sepals 4-6, pinnatifid; petals 0; disk ring-shaped; styles 3, multifid. Fruit 3-lobed, dehiscent. Worldwide: 6 species from tropical Africa to Sri Lanka Zimbabwe: 1 taxon. |
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