Fls us. perfect and regular, hypog., 5-merous, us. in cymes; calyx ± deeply lobed; corolla 5-lobed, rotate, salverform, funnelform or campanulate, the tube often partly closed by hairs or scales; stamens 5 inserted on corolla and alternating with its lobes; anthers 2-celled, dehiscing longitudinally; ovary 2-celled or by false septum 4-celled and deeply 4-lobed; style simple, terminal or gynobasic; fr. of (2)-4 indehiscent nutlets, rarely a drupe. Seeds us. without endosperm, embryo straight or curved. Herbs, sts shrubs or trees, us. hispid or scabrid, with simple, us. entire, exstipulate lvs, alt. except sts towards base. About 90 genera, nearly 2000 spp., widely distributed.

Annual, biennial or perennial herbs, less commonly shrubs. Stems and lvs commonly hispid, rarely glabrous. Lvs alternate, exstipulate, simple. Infl. often a scorpioid cyme; fls usually actinomorphic, sometimes somewhat zygomorphic. Calyx 5-toothed or 5-lobed; lobes usually imbricate. Corolla 5-lobed, rotate, cylindric, funnel-shaped or campanulate, commonly blue at anthesis (in introduced spp.); throat (apex of tube) often with 5 scales or invaginations, sometimes with only a rim or tuft of hairs. Stamens 5, inserted on corolla and alternating with lobes. Ovary superior, 2-, or 4-celled by false septa. Style usually gynobasic, occasionally terminal. Stigma simple or 2-lobed. Fr. usually of 2 or 4 nutlets, rarely a drupe. Seed usually non-endospermic, less often endospermic.

Herbs or rarely shrubs, generally hairy and often scabrid. Lvs alternate or opposite, simple or compound, exstipulate, often in basal rosettes. Infl. composed of terminal or axillary scorpioid cymes. Fls ☿, actinomorphic, nearly always 5-merous. Calyx deeply lobed, imbricate. Corolla funnelform, rotate, campanulate; lobes imbricate or rarely contorted. Stamens epipetalous, alternating with corolla lobes; anthers versatile. Ovary superior, 1-celled with parietal placentation or 2-celled with placentae adnate to septum. Styles 1-2. Fr. a loculicidal, rarely septicidal, capsule. Seeds with fleshy endosperm.