Description:

• Annual or perennial herbs, shrubs or climbers, sometimes monoecious; stems often with swollen nodes
• Leaves alternate and penninerved, simple, margins usually entire; stipules usually conspicuous and united with base of petiole to form a tubular, persistent or deciduous, membranous to hyaline, often bilobed or fringed sheath (ocrea), or sometimes much reduced or absent
• Inflorescence an axillary or terminal, simple or branched thyrse
• Flowers bisexual or unisexual, regular, small, with articulate pedicel
• Perianth: segments 2-6, basally connate into a minute to conspicuous floral tube, green or coloured, commonly in 2 similar to slightly dissimilar whorls of 3 segments, sometimes in one whorl of 5, mostly persistent and sometimes accrescent in fruit
• Stamens usually 6-9, arising at base of perianth forming a distinct ring; filaments free or connate at base; anthers 2-thecous, dehiscing lengthwise
• Disc annular
• Ovary superior, sessile, 3-angled or lenticular, 1-locular, with a solitary, basal, sessile or stalked ovule; styles 1-3, distinct or proximally united; stigmas filiform, peltate or capitate, entire or variously fringed
• Fruit an achene or small nut, trigonous or sometimes lenticular, sometimes winged or spinescent
• Seed sometimes subterete

Nomenclature:

• Polygonaceae
  • Wright: 459 (1912)
  • Merxmüller: 1 (1969)
  • Brandbyge: 531 (1993)

Distribution & Notes:

• Global: Genera ± 43, species ± 1100, cosmopolitan in a wide range of habitats
• Southern Africa: Genera 8 (3 exotic), species 56 (10 exotic)

References:

• BRANDBYGE, J. 1993. Polygonaceae. In K. Kubitzki, J.G. Rohwer and V. Bittrich, The families and genera of vascular plants 2. Springer-Verlag, Berlin
• MABBERLEY, D.J. 1997. The plant-book, edn 2. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge
• MERXMÜLLER, H. 1969. Polygonaceae. Prodromus einer Flora von Südwestafrika 23
• WRIGHT, C.H. 1912. Polygonaceae. Flora capensis 5,1

Resources:

• Classification of Polygonaceae
• Key to Polygonaceae genera

• Polygonaceae genera: