in botany: A genus of the syngenesia order, belonging to the monocotyledonous class of plants. There is no calyx; the corolla consists of six egg-shaped concave petals; the stamens are three very small inconspicuous filaments; the antherae cylindric and erect; the female flowers have no calyx; the corolla is parted into six; the pericarpium is a depressed roundish capsule with six cells; the seeds are roundish and solitary.