Description

Key Characters:

Growth Form: Herbs, shrubs, or trees, clonal from rhizomes, rooting from decumbent branches, or aclonal; hairs 1-celled, arms either short and ornamented with micropapillae and calcium carbonate crystals, or long, erect, curling, and twisted.

Stems: Stem sympodial, rarely monopodial.

Roots: Rooting from decumbent branches.

Leaves: Leaves simple. Alternate or opposite. Blades lanceolate to broadly ovate. Lower surfaces often papillate. Veins pinnate. Petiolate or sessile. Stipules absent.

Flowers: Flowers in inflorescences: bracts adnate to inflorescence branches, distal portion either minute and caducous or expanding into showy, nonchlorophyllous involucres. pedicels present or absent. Flowers bisexual (perfect) [unisexual]; perianth and androecium epigynous; hypanthium completely adnate to ovary. Hypanthium turbinate or urceolate. Calyx of 4 fused sepals. Corolla of 4(–5) petals; petals distinct, valvate spreading or recurved, usually cream, rarely purple. Stamens exserted; anthers dorsifixed, versatile. Ovary inferior, carpels 1, [1–]2[–4]-carpellate, [1–]2[–4]-locular, placentation apical; ovules 1 per locule, apotropous to epitropous; style 1; stigmas 2.

Fruit: Drupes globose; subglobose; or ellipsoid; slightly fleshy. Seeds 1(–2) per fruit.

Ploidy:

Habitat:

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