Plants prostrate or climbing, with retrorse prickles on stems and petioles. Leaves hastate to sagittate. Inflorescence capitate to shortly paniculate. Tepals fused for ca. 1/3 their length. Nectaries free, globular. Style 1, bifid or trifid.

Between 20 and 30 species: mainly in E Asia; 14 species (one endemic) in China.

For further information, the reader may wish to refer to Park (Syst. Bot. 12: 167–179. 1987; and Mem. New York Bot. Gard. 47: 1–82. 1988).