Herbs annual; taprooted.
Stems erect, branched or not.
Leaves basal and cauline, margins entire; sessile to short-petiolate below, sessile above.
Inflorescences terminal, raceme-like cymes, elongating with maturity; pedicels erect or ascending in fruit.
Flowers calyces 5-lobed nearly to base; corollas small, funnelform, 5-lobed, purple or white; fornices present; stamens included; styles usually surpassing nutlets, entire.
Fruits 4, erect, ovate, with 1 or more rows of marginal barbed prickles (glochids); attachment scars lateral, ovate.
Northern Hemisphere. 12–17 species; 2 species treated in Flora.
Older floras may include the species of this genus within Hackelia.