Monoecious; staminate fls at the summit of short spikes, minute, with 5 sep, 5 pet, and 5 initially inflexed stamens; pistillate fls at the base of the spikes, with 3-5-cleft cal and no pet; ovary with a single locule and 2 bifid styles; ovule solitary; fr lenticular, indehiscent, lepidote; seed without a caruncle; annual with the stem, lower lf-surface, sep and ovary coated with appressed round scales; lvs exstipulate, alternate, or subwhorled beneath the branches. Only 2 spp.

Gleason, Henry A. & Cronquist, Arthur J. 1991. Manual of vascular plants of northeastern United States and adjacent Canada. lxxv + 910 pp.

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