Fls 5-merous, solitary or in racemes, often unisexual; receptacle adnate to ovary, calyx-lobes persistent. Corolla oblique, split to base at back; upper lip 2-, lower 3-lobed. Staminal tube free from corolla except sts at very base. Anthers connate, lower pair awn-tipped. Ovary 2-celled, ovules ∞, stigma 2-lobed; seeds minute, us. ∞. Herbs, mostly prostrate, rooting at nodes, with alt. toothed lvs and us. acrid sap. Genus of some 20 spp. of Australia, Asia, N.Z., S. America.

Annual or perennial, dioecious herbs, often prostrate, with slender, creeping stems rooting at nodes, sometimes erect, robust, and somewhat woody. Lvs usually toothed; sap often acrid, somewhat milky. Fls solitary or in racemes. Calyx tube adnate to ovary; lobes persistent. Corolla 2-lipped; tube split to base at back; limb with upper lip 2-lobed and lower lip 3-lobed; lobes equal or unequal and those of upper lip often smaller. ♂ fls with staminal tube mostly free from corolla; anthers connate around style, the lower pair shortly awned. ♀ fls with staminodes; ovary 2-celled; stigma 2-lobed. Fr. always ± succulent, usually a berry, sometimes eventually dehiscent; seeds numerous, small.