in botany, a genus of the pentandra monogyne clas. The flower of which is a petal of a funnel-form, with a cylindrical long tube, ventricose both at the base and top, and a plane limb divided into five lanceolate segments: The fruit is composed of two oblong follicles, bent horizontally, obtuse at both ends, and sending out a lobe on each side, near the base; they have one cell, with one valve, containing numerous, oval, and imbricated seeds, inserted in a large oval membrane at the base. There are two species, viz. the latifolia, and angustifolia, both natives of America.