1. Sphenoclea Gaertner, Fruct. Sem. Pl. 1: 113, plate 24, fig. 5. 1788. name conserved.
[I]
[Greek sphen, wedge, and kleio, to inclose, probably alluding to persistent calyx covering cuneiform fruits]
Herbs glabrous. Roots coarse, usually whitish. Stems erect, hollow, soft. Leaf blades elliptic to oblanceolate, base cuneate, decurrent nearly to base of petiole, apex acute to rounded, sometimes mucronate. Inflorescences dense (rachis hidden by flowers and fruits), acropetal, pedunculate, with 1 small bract subtending each pedicel; bracts greenish white, spatulate, base carinate, apex incurved, acuminate, ± erose; bracteoles 2 per pedicel, greenish white, spatulate, apex incurved, acute to rounded, ± erose. Flowers: calyx persistent, dark green with whitish margins; corolla white. Seeds longitudinally striate. x = 12.
Species 2 (1 in the flora): introduced; Asia, Africa; introduced also in Mexico, West Indies, Central America, South America.
