Description:

• Annual or perennial, decumbent or erect, either rooted or free-floating herbs; roots concentrated on a long or short rhizome
• Leaves basal, ± distichous, erect, juvenile linear; adult differentiated into petiole and blade; lamina lanceolate to ovate or cordate, cuneate at base, acute or obtuse at apex, tipped by a hard blunt mucro; with parallel nerves
• Inflorescence umbellate, 1 whorl of flowers, sometimes 2 in larger plants; peduncle longer than leaves; each whorl with rather few bracteate, long-pedicellate flowers, or flowers solitary
• Flowers regular, bisexual, hypogynous
• Sepals 3, green, persistent, with latex tubes
• Petals 3, larger than sepals, delicate, not persistent, white to rose or yellow
• Stamens ± 9, all fertile
• Carpels superior, 4-9, united at base, in 1 or rarely 2 whorls; ovules many, parietal
• Fruit a head of follicles or thin-walled nutlets; longer than sepals
• Seeds many, scattered over inner surface of carpel wall, smooth and shiny, black to brown; embryo horseshoe-shaped

Nomenclature:

• Butomopsis Kunth
  • Kunth: 164 (1841)
  • Hooper & Symoens: 56 (1982)
  • Cook: 116 (1990)
• Tenagocharis Hochst.
  • Hochstetter: 369 (1841)
  • Carter: 1 (1960)

Distribution & Notes:

• Global: Monotypic: Butomopsis latifolia (D.Don) Kunth, tropical Old World
• Southern Africa: Okavango region (Botswana)