8283.100 Catunaregam Wolf

Spiny shrubs or small trees. Spines opposite and decussate on young and coppice growth; paired, single or 0 on older stems. Stipules acuminate. Leaves deciduous, paired and well-spaced on yung and coppice growth; in clusters on cushion shoots and brachyblasts. Flowers (4-)5-merous, bisexual or functionally unisexual. Inflorescences terminal or subterminal on cushion shoots ad brachyblasts. Calyx lobes ovate, oblong or spathulate, often with a rudimentary lobe in the wide sinuses. Corolla tube short, much shorter than the lobes; the lobes contorted to the left. Ovary 2(-3)-locular. Fruit crowned by a persistent, sometimes accrescent, calyx.

Worldwide: 10-15 species in Africa, Madagascar and Asia

Malawi: 2 taxa.