Fls perfect, irregular, us. on bracted scapes; calyx 2-5-lobed, or of separate sepals; corolla gamopetalous, 2-lipped, often personate with palates of diverse form; lower lip saccate or spurred. Stamens 2, inserted at base of corolla, with sts 2 rud. ones; anthers 1-celled, dehiscing lengthwise. Ovary superior, 1-loculed; style short or obsolete; stigma subsessile, 2-lobed. Ovules ∞, on free-central placenta. Capsule dehiscence various; seeds minute, without endosperm. Aquatic to bog herbs with alt. or rosulate, multifid to entire or scalelike, often dimorphic lvs. Widely spread family with some 5 genera and about 300 spp.

Small, carnivorous herbs. Lvs alternate or in rosettes, often reduced, sometimes dimorphic. Infl. bracteate, scapose, racemose or fls solitary. Fls zygomorphic, ☿. Calyx 2-5-lobed, often 2-lipped, persistent. Corolla 5-lobed, 2-lipped; upper lip entire or 2-lobed; lower lip spurred, 2-5-lobed. Stamens 2, inserted on base of corolla; anthers 1-celled; staminodes 2, vestigial. Ovary superior, 1-celled, of 2 united carpels; placentation free-central; ovules usually numerous, rarely few; stigma often sessile, 2-lobed. Fr. a capsule, with dehiscence circumscissile, by 2-4 valves, or irregular. Seeds usually numerous, non-endospermic, minute; embryo poorly differentiated.