Description

Key Characters:

Growth Form: Annual or perennial herbs, rarely small shrubs or vines.

Stems: Stems erect to climbing or ascending, often with swollen nodes.

Roots:

Leaves: Leaves simple. Alternate. Blades linear to broadly ovate or hastate, always longer than wide. Margins entire. Petiolate, petioles sometimes jointed. Stipules present, ocreae usually well–developed.

Flowers: Flowers in solitary or in axillary, racemose clusters, sometimes forming panicles or corymbs, each flower usually small, on short, jointed pedicels. Flowers bisexual (perfect), actinomorphic. Tepals (4)5(6), usually petaloid, persistent, slightly enlarging and enclosing the fruit, connate at base into a minute floral tube. Stamens 3–9, but usually 5, exserted or included; anthers dithecal, opening by longitudinal slits. Ovary superior, (2)3(4)-carpellate, 1-celled; ovule 1; styles 2–3, distinct or connate basally, deciduous; stigmas capitate or rarely fimbriate, dry.

Fruit: Fruit a lenticular or trigonous nut; protruding up to ca. ½ its length from or completely enclosed by the persistent tepals.

Ploidy:

Habitat:

Elevation Range: