Thymelaeaceae
Shrubs, trees or rarely herbs; bark usually very tough. Lvs opposite or alternate, simple, exstipulate. Infl. a terminal bracteate head, spike or raceme, rarely fls solitary. Fls actinomorphic or nearly so, usually ⚥, sometimes unisexual. Calyx with tubular hypanthium, often petaloid, often swollen below, with 4-5 imbricate lobes. Petals 4-12 or 0, scale-like, inserted at mouth of calyx tube or within it. Stamens 1-numerous, usually as many as or twice as many as calyx lobes. Hypogynous disc annular, or of separate scales, or 0. Ovary superior, positioned at base of calyx tube but free from it, 1-2-locular, with 1 ovule to each locule. Fr. usually a drupe or nut, very rarely a capsule.
c. 40 genera, 400-500 spp., temperate to tropical regions, especially southern Africa.
