Monoecious or rarely dioecious
annual or perennial herbs, shrubs or rarely trees. Stipules
present. Leaves alternate, sometimes dotted with translucent
glands, often 3-7-nerved from the base. Inflorescences various,
bisexual or unisexual; the male inflorescences axillary, slender,
catkin-like; female inflorescences axillary or terminal, often
spicate. Inflorescences with both male and female flowers, usually female
at the base and male above, less often the other way around. Male
flowers very small, clustered in small inconspicuous bracts; petals
0; stamens usually 8. Female flowers either sessile and 1-3(-5) in an accrescent bract which becomes leaf-like or shortly stalked and
solitary in a non-accrescent bract; petals 0; ovary (2-)3-locular. Allomorphic female flowers often terminate the inflorescence
in annual species. These have no bract and have a 1-locular
ovary. Worldwide: 430 species occurring in tropical and warm areas of the world Zambia: 1 cultivated taxon. Insects associated with this genus: |
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