Description

Key Characters:

Growth Form: Shrubs, annual or perennial herbs, or rarely small trees.

Stems: Stems often sympodial and swollen or jointed at the nodes.

Roots:

Leaves: Leaves compound (pinnate, occasionally 2(3)–foliate) or simple. Opposite or occasionally alternate. Blades often strongly resinous. Blades fleshy to coriaceous. Petiolate to subsessile. Stipules usually well-developed, paired, slender, persistent, sometimes spinescent, or rarely absent.

Flowers: Flowers in cymose or rarely racemose inflorescence or solitary. Flowers bisexual (perfect) or rarely unisexual, actinomorphic or rarely irregular. Calyx of (4)5 sepals; sepals distinct or occasionally connate at base, imbricate or valvate. Corolla of (0,4)5 petals; petals usually distinct, imbricate, convolute, or rarely valvate, deciduous or rarely marcescent. Stamens (1)2(3) times as many as petals, often unequal in length; filaments distinct, often glandular or with appendages at base; anthers dithecal, opening by longitudinal slits. Ovary superior (2–)4–5(–12)-carpellate, with as many cells, sessile or rarely stipitate, placentation axile or rarely basal; ovules 1 to numerous per cell, pendulous or rarely ascending, usually epitropous, anatropous to sometimes hemitropous, campylotropous, or orthotropous; style 1, rarely divided; stigmas capitate or distinct.

Fruit: Fruit usually a loculicidal or septicidal capsules or a schizocarp; rarely a berry or drupe. Seeds 1 to numerous; embryo straight or slightly curved; endosperm hard and oily or rarely absent.

Ploidy:

Habitat:

Elevation Range: