in botany: A genus of the angiospermia order, belonging to the didynamia clas of plants; and in the natural method ranking under the 40th order, Perforatae. The calyx of the flower is double, the under one tetraphyllous, the upper one a monophyllous spathe; the tube of the corolla very long; the capsule almost the same with that of the martynia; which see. There are two species, both natives of hot climates, and neither of them possessed of any remarkable property.