Description :

• Aerial, hemiparasitic shrubs, often large and pendent; branchlets slightly compressed, often with scales or stellate-hairy on young parts
• Leaves opposite, subopposite or rarely ternate, mostly petiolate, usually somewhat coriaceous
• Inflorescence a sessile to shortly pedunculate umbel or 2-several, axillary
• Calyx annular to shortly tubular, subentire to shortly lobed
• Corolla 5(exceptionally 6)-lobed, with dense stellate or dendritic hairs, tube longer than lobes, usually yellow or orange with red markings or more often reddish, but colours muted by indumentum; apical swelling of bud fusiform to globular, sometimes ribbed or narrowly winged; basal swelling variously developed; tube split unilaterally, the V-slit extending little more or less than ± halfway, papillate along sutures; lobes erect
• Filaments attached near base of lobes, linear, inrolled at anthesis; anthers oblong to linear-oblong, with 4-thecae transversely divided into several-many locules
• Style slender, 5-angled or narrowly 5-winged, often expanded opposite filaments and narrowed opposite anthers, sometimes papillate or hairy; stigma globular to obovoid
• Berry reddish, often blue to blue-green, ellipsoid or obovoid, mostly with persistent calyx

Nomenclature:

• Phragmanthera Tiegh
  • Van Tieghem: 261 (1895)
  • Balle: 164 (1968)
  • Balle: 5 (1969)
  • Polhill & Wiens 246 (1998)
• Tapinanthus (Blume) Rchb.f. in part
  • Wiens & Tölken: 3 (1979)

Distribution & Notes:

• Global : Species ± 34, widely spread in tropical Africa and Arabian Peninsula
• Southern Africa : Species 4, Namibia