Description

Key Characters:

Growth Form: Shrubs or trees, often evergreen.

Stems:

Roots:

Leaves: Leaves simple. Alternate. Blades ovate to orbicular in outline, unlobed or 3–lobed. Apex obtuse to acuminate. Base cordate to subtruncate. Surfaces usually glandular punctate, glabrous, or pubescent. Margins entire. Lower surface often with a gland at base of major veins. Petiolate. Stipules present, caducous, or absent.

Flowers: Flowers axillary, solitary or in cymes, collectively often forming spicate to paniculate or even head-like inflorescences, +/- with an involucel subtending the calyx, the bracts distinct or basally connate. Flowers bisexual (perfect). Calyx composed of connate sepals, truncate to 5-lobed, the lobes valvate in bud, persistent or circumscissilly dehiscent. Corolla actinomorphic to moderately zygomorphic, white, yellow, or rose, often maroon–spotted toward base, usually convolute–campanulate, the corolla of 5 petals, obovate, distinct from each other but adnate at base to staminal column. Stamens 5 to numerous, monadelphous, forming a staminal column, staminal column usually included; antheriferous in upper ½ or more, apex 5–toothed; anthers monothecal. Pollen globose, echinate. Ovary superior, (3–)5-celled, the carpels borne in a single whorl or rarely seemingly superposed whorls, placentation axile; ovules 3 to several per cell; style exceeding the staminal column, unbranched, clavate; stigmas decurrent.

Fruit: Capsules loculicidally dehiscent or essentially indehiscent; leathery or woody. Seeds angled–turbinate; glabrous or pubescent; with or without endosperm.

Ploidy:

Habitat:

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