Description: Annual or biennial herbs; hairs tubercle-based.
Leaves alternate on stems above a basal rosette.
Inflorescence terminal, scorpioid cymes; flowers sessile, bracts present only at the base. Sepals fused at the base. Corolla actinomorphic, narrowly funnel-shaped, glabrous except for hairs on the scales in the throat opposite the lobes. Stamens included; anthers almost sessile, lacking appendages. Ovary 4-lobed; style as long as the stamens; stigma capitate.
Mericarps wrinkled with a thickened attachment scar; gynobase low and broad.
Distribution and occurrence: World: c. 50 species, Europe, W. Asia, Africa. Australia: 3 species (naturalised), N.S.W., Vic., Tas., S.A., W.A.
The record of A. officinalis has not been substantiated.
Text by Peter G. Wilson
Taxon concept:
| One species in NSW: Anchusa arvensis |
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