Shrubs, subshrubs, or facultative annuals, glabrous or with scattered trichomes to sparsely hirtellous, puberulent, tomentulose, or villous. Leaves sessile or short-petiolate, cross section with dark-green ring of chlorenchyma just inside epidermis (best seen at 10× or greater magnification). Inflorescences glomes, each glome in axis of one leaflike bract or bractless; bracteoles subtending glomes often with scattered marginal hairs. Flowers bisexual or, sometimes, pistillate; perianth actinomorphic, globose to oblong; perianth segments connate proximally or to middle, abaxially rounded, sometimes distally hooded, without appendages, succulent, apex acute to obtuse; ovary lanceoloid to ovoid or often ± vase-shaped with distal necklike extension; stigmas (2-)3, arising from pit at apex of ovary or from pit on distal necklike extension of ovary, subsessile or on short style, filiform to lanceolate, pilose-papillate. Seeds horizontal or vertical, not distinctly dimorphic, sometimes variable in size and color, lenticular; seed coat black or brown, shiny, usually finely reticulate (seen at 40× magnification), sometimes smooth.

Species ca. 10 (5 in the flora): North America, South America.