The World Flora Online

Herbes dioïques ou rarement monoïques, roses à pourpres, devenant brunâtres, à tubercules horizontaux et branchus. Feuilles réduites à des écailles imbriquées. Inflorescences solitaires, non ramifiées, à fleurs nombreuses en capitules involucrés, généralement pédonculés ou parfois sessiles; pédoncules et capitules à écailles imbriquées. Fleurs mâles sur un réceptacle plan à peu convexe, avec 2-6 tépales minuscules disposés en spirale; étamines 2-6, réunies en un synandre, anthères généralement à 2 loges et à déhiscence longitudinale. Fleurs femelles sur un réceptacle hémisphérique à conique, libres mais densément insérés; périanthe tubulaire, 3-4-lobé; ovaire à 1 ovule; style 1, longuement exsert. Fruits: akènes groupés dans une structure hémisphérique.

Parasite'formant, aux points d'attache avec les racines de l'hôte, des tubercules émettant des rhizomatoïdes ± ramifiés, cylindriques, ± velus et contenant une substance céracée (balanophorine).'Inflorescences'solitaires, en capitules involucres généralement pédoncules; pédoncules et involucres des capitules à écailles imbriquées, coriaces et rigides.'Fleurs'♂ généralement à l'aisselle de bractées subulées; périgone à 2-6 tépales linéaires; étamines 3-5, obstémones, soudées en colonne; anthères généralement 2-loculaires, en synandries et à déhiscence longitudinale.'Fleurs'♀ libres ou légèrement soudées latéralement, à périgone tubulaire épigyne; style exsert, simple et filiforme; ovule solitaire, adhérent à la paroi de l'ovaire.'Akènes .\n\t\t\t\tSix espèces en Afrique et 1 à Madagascar.

Male flowers: fewer and less densely packed in head than female; perianth segments spirally arranged, unequal in length and extent of attachment to synandrium; stamens united into a synandrium. Female flowers: numerous and densely packed in head; perianth cylindrical, irregularly 2–4-lobed; style long-exserted; ovary inferior, 1-locular. Fruits 1-seeded achenes aggregated into a hemispherical infructescence. Dioecious or rarely monoecious plants. Tubers irregularly shaped, emitting horizontal, cylindrical, branched rhizomes. Inflorescences of involucrate heads of flowers from buds on tuber, unbranched, pedunculate to sessile; peduncles densely covered with imbricate scales; receptacle of male inflorescences flat to slightly convex, of female inflorescences conical to hemispherical. Female flowers: numerous and densely packed in head; perianth cylindrical, irregularly 2–4-lobed; style long-exserted; ovary inferior, 1-locular. Fruits 1-seeded achenes aggregated into a hemispherical infructescence. Dioecious or rarely monoecious plants. Tubers irregularly shaped, emitting horizontal, cylindrical, branched rhizomes. Inflorescences of involucrate heads of flowers from buds on tuber, unbranched, pedunculate to sessile; peduncles densely covered with imbricate scales; receptacle of male inflorescences flat to slightly convex, of female inflorescences conical to hemispherical.

Infructescence a swollen hemisphere, bearing minute 1-seeded achenes. Male flowers pedicellate; perianth-segments 2–6, linear, spirally arranged; anthers 3–6, linear-elongate, united but with apices finally free, 2-thecous and extrorsely dehiscing Female flowers linear-prismatic, densely crowded, perianth tubular, obscurely 2–3-lobed; style 1, exserted Inflorescence-bearing stems breaking through buds on the tuber, leaving a short lobed volva basally Tuber rhizome-like, cylindrical, branched, swollen at point of contact with host-root Inflorescence unbranched, spadix-like with axis obconical, terminally convex, bearing numerous flowers Stem with numerous spirally arranged triangular-lanceolate scale-leaves Plants dioecious Male flowers pedicellate; perianth-segments 2–6, linear, spirally arranged; anthers 3–6, linear-elongate, united but with apices finally free, 2-thecous and extrorsely dehiscing Female flowers linear-prismatic, densely crowded, perianth tubular, obscurely 2–3-lobed; style 1, exserted Inflorescence-bearing stems breaking through buds on the tuber, leaving a short lobed volva basally Tuber rhizome-like, cylindrical, branched, swollen at point of contact with host-root Inflorescence unbranched, spadix-like with axis obconical, terminally convex, bearing numerous flowers Stem with numerous spirally arranged triangular-lanceolate scale-leaves Plants dioecious