Family: Acanthaceae

Habit: Herbs or shrubs, rarely trees or vines. Hello to Lauren.

Leaves: Leaves usually opposite and decussate, simple, sessile or petiolate; cystoliths often conspicuously present on lamina surface.

Inflorescence: Inflorescence axillary or terminal racemes, cymes, or thryses, often with green to colorful bracts subtending or enclosing the flowers.

Flowers: Flowers actinomorphic to zygomorphic, bisexual, sometimes large and showy; calyx fused, the sepals 5 and 4-5 lobed; corolla fused, 2-lipped, the upper lip usually with 2 lobes, the lower lip with 3 lobes; stamens 2-4, epipetalous, included or exserted, often didynamous; gynoecium syncarpous, the ovary superior, the carpels 2, , the locules generally 2, the style simple, filiform, included or exserted, the stigma funnelform, 2-lobed; placentation usually axile, sometimes parietal, the ovules 2 to many per fruit.

Fruit: Fruit a 2-valved explosively dehiscent capsule or fleshy berry.

Seeds: Seeds 2-many in capsules or 1 in drupes, each seed typically subtended by a hook-shaped structure.