Description

Key Characters:

Growth Form: Succulent perennial or annual herbs, from fibrous or occasionally tuber-like roots.

Stems: Stems prostrate, ascending, or erect or plants rarely acaulescent (without an obvious stem).

Roots: Fibrous root system.

Leaves: Leaves simple. Alternate, spiralled. Blades lanceolate, ovate, or elliptic, flat or somewhat channeled. Margins entire. Veins parallel. Sheathing, sheath membranous and often closed. Stipules absent.

Flowers: Flowers 1–2, in leaf–opposed or terminal, few–flowered cymes subtended by a spathe-like bract, flowers exserted from the bract shortly after sunrise and open until midday. Flowers bisexual (perfect), irregular. Calyx of 3 sepals 1 shorter, the lateral 2 sometimes connate. Corolla of 3 petals, usually blue, the lateral 2 larger clawed, the lower one usually colored differently. Fertile stamens 3 on lower side of flower, with 2–3 staminodes above the fertile stamens. Ovary superior, 3-carpellate, 2–3-celled; ovules 1–2 in two cells , the other sterile or with 1 ovule.

Fruit: Capsules 2–3–celled. Seeds 1–5 per capsule; pitted or wrinkled.

Ploidy:

Habitat:

Elevation Range: