Damascisa [Greek glinos, sweet juice]

Nemallosis Rafinesque

Herbs, annual, stellate, pubescent. Stems prostrate to ascending, branching from base. Leaves alternate or whorled; stipules absent. Inflorescences axillary, cymose; cymes dense, reduced. Flowers sessile or short pedicellate; sepals persistent, 5, basally connate, abaxially stellate-pubescent; petals absent (or 5-20); stamens (3-)5(-20), alternate with sepals, distinct or fascicled; pistils 3-5-locular; ovules 10-25 per locule; styles 1(-5), terminal, erect, or stigmas sessile. Fruits capsular, 3-5-valved. Seeds: somewhat flattened laterally, asymmetrically reniform, smooth to tuberculate, funiculus develops into a long, slender strophiole. x = 9.

Species 6 (2 in the flora): North America, West Indies, Central America, South America, Eurasia, Africa, Australia.

Several species of Glinus have medicinal value. Glinus oppositifolius has been used as a vegetable in Africa, India, and the Philippines, and to treat diarrhea, boils, bilious attacks, headache, and joint pain (H. M. Burkill 1985; K. R. Kirtikar and B. D. Basu 1935; A. K. Tripathi 1988). K. M. Alikutty and N. M. Aleyas (1978) presented evidence that G. oppositifolius is toxic to cattle, when fed in large quantities.

Lower Taxa

• Glinus lotoides Linnaeus
• Glinus radiatus (Ruiz & Pavón) Rohrbach