7777.000 Sesamum L.

Annual or perennial, erect herbs. Leaves variable; lamina ranging from entire to digitate. Flowers solitary in the axils with prominent extra-floral nectaries at the base. Corolla white, pink dark red or purple; limb ± 2-lobed. Fruit a dehiscent non-woody capsule, beaked at the apex, but without sideways-directed horns. Seeds winged or with a double, rarely single, edge.

Derivation of name: Greek and Latin name for the edible Sesame

Worldwide: 15 species in the tropical Old World and South Africa

Malawi: 3 taxa.