genus descriptions: SSTAs

Small parasites of trees in family Fabaceae (Leguminosae), vegetatively much reduced, only flowers emerging on smaller branches of host. Flowers many, involucrate, globose, ovoid or ellipsoid, unisexual by abortion. Perianth segments 4-12, free, similar to bracts, imbricate, persistent, enclosing an annular disc at base. Male flowers: stamen filaments connate into a tube about a central column (pistillode); pistillode (and gynandroecial column) expanded apically into a disc (pileus) fringed with papillae; anthers sessile, 1-several-seriate below pileus rim. Female flowers: ovary inferior, surmounted by a fleshy disc; disc flat, concave or convex, sometimes appearing as a simple extension of style; style short, thick, conical or cylindrical; stigma capitate, stigmatic surface hemispherical or a subapical annular ring. Berry globose, surrounded by persistent bracts and perianth segments.

Erect to ascending annuals to biennials, occasionally bushy; stem simple or branched, striate, glabrous or often scabrous to sparsely hairy on angles, especially towards inflorescence. Leaves scattered or fasciculate, sessile, entire, linear or lanceolate, scabrid on nerves and margins, occasionally undulate. Inflorescence dense, spike-like terminal raceme; bracts linear-subulate, persistent; pedicels slightly shorter than bracts but elongating considerably in fruit. Flowers bisexual or rarely unisexual, usually irregular. Calyx 5-partite; sepals subequal, persistent. Petals 5, deciduous, arising at base of disc, dilated at base of limb into a membranous suborbicular appendage; 2 adaxial petals deeply 4- or 5-fid, 3 abaxial ones entire or 2-fid. Stamens 10-15, arising on disc; filaments papillose; anthers 2-thecous, dehiscing longitudinally. Ovary superior, stipitate, of 5 or 6 whorled carpels connate at base; ovules many, clustered at base of carpels. Fruit of open follicles spreading stellately, 7-12-seeded. Seeds kidney-shaped, sinus narrow, filled with carunculate tissue, rugulose with small rounded warts.

Tall trees; bark silvery grey with vertical, twisted furrowing. Leaves opposite to somewhat alternate, petiolate, ovate-elliptic to oblong-ovate, penninerved with many subparallel tertiary veins, markedly glandular-serrulate; stipules subulate, caducous. Inflorescences divaricately branched axillary cymes. Flowers bisexual. Sepals 5, deltoid with minutely pubescent margins. Petals 5, not clawed, extremely concavo-convex and thus almost totally obscuring anther, even when dehiscing. Stamens 5, with +/- sessile anthers. Disc thin, lining cup at its rim, minutely 10-lobed. Ovary apparently 1-locular, with a single basal, ascending, anatropous ovule; style simple, cylindric, projecting only slightly above petals; stigma peltate with 10 small marginal lobes. Fruit a +/- obovoid drupe with a 1-seeded stone with style and stigma persistent; outer portion of mesocarp fleshy.

Erect or ascending annual herbs; stems simple or branched. Leaves petiolate, oblong to obovate, entire or coarsely dentate, subsucculent. Flowers solitary in leaf axils. Corolla: tube subcylindric or narrowly funnel-shaped; limb spreading, subequally 5-lobed, yellow. Stamens included; thecae divergent; staminodium present or absent. Ovary bilocular, undivided, each locule with 2 pendulous ovules. Fruit indehiscent, subpyramidal, 4-angled, rounded to acute at apex and with a spreading spine at each basal angle, then abruptly contracted into a narrow collar below; mesocarp spongy. Seeds 1 or 2 in each locule, narrowly oblong in outline.