PENAEACEAE  

Shrubs or shrublets, erect or occasionally procumbent to ascending; young branches often 4-angled. Leaves sessile or sometimes shortly petiolate, entire, opposite, linear to ovate or oblanceolate, often reduced in size towards tips of branches, glabrous. Flowers usually in spike-like racemes; bracts foliaceous; bracteoles variable. Perianth united, at least in basal half, into a campanulate or cylindric tube, with 4(5) triangular lobes, simply valvate, often with thickened apex and keeled inner face, persistent and enclosing capsule, accrescent, white to pale yellow or sometimes pink, often becoming purplish with age. Stamens: filaments fused for greater part to inner wall of perianth tube, with very short free portion, extending into an expanded cordate-ovate, fleshy connective, on inner basal portion of which are produced 2 thecae with introrse dehiscence. Ovary 4-locular, with 2 ascending ovules from near base of inner surface of each locule; style columnar, with 4-8 longitudinal ridges and 4 rather flat, stigmatic lobes at apex. Capsule hard, quadrangular-ovoidal with loculicidal dehiscence.

Shrublets or shrubs, erect or ascending, sparingly branched; branchlets 4-ridged. Leaves imbricate, entire, coriaceous, with or without a dark areola. Flowers 1-7, terminal, sessile, usually bracteate and usually in small, capitate spikes; bracts: lowest larger than leaves, denticulate-fimbriate, with or without apical gland and with sticky secretion. Perianth: tube cylindric, rose or purple, seldom white; lobes +/- a third as long as tube, becoming reflexed. Stamens: filaments erect, linear, +/- as long as the elliptic-oblong connective; anthers +/- oblong, slightly shorter than connective, with shortly papillate fissure margins. Ovary sessile, smooth, with 4 ascending ovules in each locule; style slender; stigma capitate, quadrangular, relatively large. x = 10 (1 report, polyploidy).

Shrubs or shrublets, erect or ascending, with dichotomous branching; young branches 4-ridged. Leaves imbricate, with pale, almost white margins, grooved above and with prominent midrib on lower surface. Flowers in terminal, congested racemes, bracteate; lower bracts foliaceous, upper narrow. Perianth: tube cylindric, narrowed slightly towards base and throat, yellow, changing to carmine; lobes reduplicate-valvate in bud, becoming reflexed with age. Stamens shorter than perianth lobes and filaments shorter than anthers; anthers cordate-ovate; thecae with membranous margin and longer than connective. Ovary 4-locular, with 2 erect and 2 pendulous ovules in each locule; style terete, as long as or longer than perianth tube; stigma capitate, obscurely 4-lobed. Capsule 13-15 mm long, excluding persistent style base.

Shrublets, decumbent to erect; branchlets 4-ridged. Leaves coriaceous, entire, without dark, apical areola. Flowers lateral or terminal, solitary or in cymes or in few-flowered, thyrsoid racemes; bracts foliaceous; bracteoles usually narrow, often partly hyaline, with entire margin, without apical spot. Perianth: tube narrowly cylindric to campanulate, 5-12(-14) mm long, dark red or a shade of purple; lobes ovate, usually acute, with reduplicate-valvate aestivation. Stamens: filaments linear to conical, 0.5-1.5 mm long; connective triangular-ovate, carnose, rugose to almost bullate. Ovary smooth or papillate, with 2 ascending ovules in each locule; style terete or slightly angular; stigma small, capitate, +/- distinctly quadrangular. x = 10 (1 report).