Herbs, erect, creeping or climbing. Leaves opposite, sometimes cordate or hastate at base. Flowers axillary. Bracts 2, large, elliptic or ovate, enveloping the small calyx. Calyx usually of 10-18 linear teeth, rarely a small saucer-shaped body. Stamens 4, didynamous, 2-thecous; anthers opening by longitudinal slits. Retinacula 0. Ovary 2-locular, with 2 ovules in each loculus. Fruit a spherical beaked capsule. Distinguished by the large bracts, the calyx with its numerous lobes, the method of anther dehiscence and the beaked fruit. Derivation of name: Named after Carl Peter Thunberg (1743-1828) Worldwide: 90 species in the Old World tropics Botswana: 6 taxa. Insects associated with this genus:
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Species | FZ divisions | Content |
alata Bojer ex Sims | Description, Image | |
annua Nees | N | Description |
dregeana Nees | SE | Description, Image |
kirkiana T. Anderson | N | |
neglecta Sond. | SE | |
reticulata A. Rich. | N,SW | Description, Image |