Description:

• Lianas, shrubs or rarely small trees; branches cylindrical
• Leaves: leaflets many-jugate, opposite or not, often asymmetric and often also acuminate
• Inflorescences racemose, or occasionally in panicles, fascicles, or flowers solitary on main stem, axillary, usually more than 1 together in axil of single leaf, sometimes pseudoterminal
• Flowers bisexual or unisexual with some bisexual, small, tomentose, heterostylous, often heterodistylous; pedicels with a distinct joint
• Sepals ± free, imbricate in bud
• Petals shorter, as long as or somewhat longer than sepals, free, white, yellowish or red-tinged, imbricate in bud, glabrous or with some hairs outside near base
• Stamens: filaments free or shortly connate at base, glabrous; anthers usually recurved with age
• Gynoecium of 5, free, sessile carpels; ovules 2 per locule; styles often pilose at base, short; stigmas capitate
• Follicles 1-5 per flower, reniform or cylindrical, curved or undulated, beaked or not, opening lengthways along ventral suture, densely tomentose and sometimes also with long rigid hairs outside, velutinous and sometimes with rigid, easily detached, stinging hairs inside
• Seed solitary, attached to base of follicle, ovoid, with yellow to red sarcotesta at base, surrounding the hilum; testa usually black and shiny; endosperm present, abundant
• x = 14 (1 report)

Nomenclature:

• Cnestis Juss.
  • Jussieu: 374 (1789)
  • Candolle: 86 (1825)
  • Endlicher: 1140 (1840)
  • Sonder: 527 (1860)
  • Hooker: 433 (1862)
  • Gilg: 67 (1894)
  • Burtt Davy: 511 (1932)
  • Mendes: 615 (1966)
  • Lemmens: 174 (1989)

Distribution & Notes:

• Global: Species ± 13, largely restricted to tropical Africa and Madagascar, but 1 species in tropical Asia
• Southern Africa: Species 1: Cnestis polyphylla Lam., in Northern Province, Mpumalanga, Swaziland, KwaZulu-Natal and northern Eastern Cape